Cypher
Tags: flashback, brainwashing, sci-fi

Plot synopsis:
Morgan Sullivan (Northam), a recently unemployed accountant, is bored with his suburban life. Pressured by his wife to take a job with her father's company, he instead pursues a position in corporate espionage. Digicorp's Head of Security, Finster (Bennett), inducts Morgan and assigns him a new identity. As Jack Thursby, he is sent to conventions to secretly record presentations and transmit them to headquarters. Sullivan is soon haunted by recurring nightmares and neck pain. When he meets Rita Foster (Liu) from a competing corporation, his life starts to become complicated.
Rita gives him pills to cure his pain and nightmares and tells him not to transmit at the next convention. After the convention, Digicorp confirms the receipt of his transmission, though Morgan had sent nothing. Sure that something strange is going on, Morgan takes the pills Rita gave him and finds that they work. Confused by what is going on, and intrigued by Rita, he arranges to meet with her again. At the meeting, she tells him about Digicorp's deception and offers him an antidote – a green liquid in a large syringe. Morgan hesitantly accepts. She warns him that no matter what happens at the next convention he must not react.
Morgan discovers that all the convention attendees are spies like him, all thinking themselves individual spies working for Digicorp. While they are drugged from the served drinks, plastic-clad scientists probe, inject and brainwash them. Individual headsets reinforce their new identities, preparing them to be used and then disposed of. Morgan manages to convince Digicorp that he believes his new identity. He is then recruited by Sunway Systems, a rival of Digicorp. Sunway's Head of Security, Callaway (Webber), encourages Morgan to act as a double agent, feeding corrupted data to Digicorp. Morgan calls Rita, who warns him that Sunway is equally ruthless, and that he is in fact being used by Rita's boss, Sebastian Rooks. Morgan manages to steal the required information from Sunway Systems' vault, escaping with Rita's help.
Rita ultimately takes him to meet Rooks. When she temporarily leaves the room, a nervous Morgan calls Finster, and becomes even more distressed. He accidentally shoots Rita, who encourages him to ignore her and meet Rooks in the room next door. Morgan finds the room filled with objects which appear to be personal to him, including a photograph of him and Rita together. Realising that he is apparently Rooks, he turns to Rita in disbelief.
Before Rita can convince him, the apartment is invaded by armed men. Rita and Morgan escape to the roof of the skyscraper as the security teams of Digicorp and Sunway meet, led by Finster and Callaway. After a short Mexican standoff both sides realise they are after the same person, Sebastian Rooks, and rush to the roof, where they find Morgan and Rita in a helicopter. Rita cannot fly it, but, having designed it himself, Sebastian can after Rita encourages him to remember his past self, connecting through his love for her. He lifts off amid gunfire from the security teams. Finster and Callaway comment as the couple seem to have escaped:
Callaway: "Did you get a look at him? Did you see Rooks' face?"
Finster: "Just Morgan Sullivan, our pawn."
Looking up, they see the helicopter hovering and realise, too late, the true identity of Morgan Sullivan. Sebastian triggers a bomb, causing the whole roof to explode. On a boat in the South Pacific Ocean, Sebastian reveals the content of the stolen disc to Rita. Marked "terminate with extreme prejudice", it is the last copy of Rita's identity (after the one in the vault was destroyed). Sebastian throws the disc into the sea and says, "Now there's no copy at all."

Review: On his flights and during his sleep he is bothered by vivid dreams and voices in his head; he thinks nothing of it but then his next meeting with Rita reveals something much more sinister than the basic assignments he thought he was getting and he soon finds himself in deep.I had never heard of this film at all before watching it, nor did I even know anything about it whatsoever and I only ended up watching it because I had FilmFour free one weekend and this was one of the few films that they showed that was worth seeing.
The efforts of the director and the actors combined in an effective thriller.Although the plotting of the film was convoluted, the story progressed very clearly as the layers of corporate greed and skullduggery were revealed.In 1949, George Orwell suggested in his famous novel "1984" that the future would be ruled by the totalitarian State, which would control minds and diminish human liberty.
Cypher was a movie I was looking forward to after I had read some comments here about it's story being like the works Philip K.
Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu definitely deserve movies as good as this, although they don't seem to have found that many in their careers.
I think he too can be cold if the situation calls for it, and rather down-to-Earth, as well.Great film and definitely this movie-buff recommends it to be seen at least once if you like corporate espionage films..
The second feature from Vincenzo Natali (director of the cult film Cube, if you haven't seen it, go check it out) comes this tantalizing sci-fi with hints of film noir blended together to create a smart and puzzling piece of espionage, double-cross with numerous twists and turns.Set in an alternative reality where a bored business man Morgan Sullivan (played with bookish awkwardness by Jermery Northam) decides to apply for a job at a global computer firm Digicorp.
A world, which is not dissimilar to our own, is bought to life by the high contrast and sharp detail by cinematographer Derek Rogers giving the whole feel a cold, calculated and cool precision look.The performances by Jeremy Northam provides the main focus as we see his transformation from a bland everyday businessman into a paranoid agent who allegiances is divided and is unsure of who to trust and who to follow.
Indeed, something clever is going on here, but most alert and intelligent viewers will see each plot twist coming, and will feel (at least through most of the film) that they have seen it all before.
It appears to be a sci-fi film, but it's really just a pedestrian spy thriller with a few sci-fi elements tossed in to differentiate it slightly from the dozens of similar films that have been made in this popular genre.Likable Lucy Liu plays her usual role - an ambiguous heroine who could be a savior or a slayer for Jeremy Northam - a man who has been reprogrammed, brainwashed, and seems on his way to hell with a one way ticket.
Northam makes the film with an evolving, highly dynamic, and often annoying performance - playing a character who is, in fact, at least three different characters.Though Cypher is somewhat predictable in terms of action and events, it is never exactly made clear what is motivating everything until the very end.
Vincenzo Natali follows up the best science fiction movie of the 1990s with another stylish and intelligent mind blowing experience!.
'Cypher' isn't actually based on a PKD story but in many ways it's the closest thing to his fiction yet seen on a movie screen.
Maybe she's just trying to get indie cred by appearing in 'Cypher', but who cares when she gives a good performance in a great movie.
I did feel like I followed the film along and came out the other end appreciating what had just happened but not really affected by it.Shame really, since it was good to see such a great performance from Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu in a different role from the usual character she keeps playing..
Cypher is a cheap, derivative, dull movie, set in a poorly realised bland futureworld, with wooden leads, and a laughable ending.An eerie sense that something interesting might be about to happen keeps you watching a series of increasingly silly and unconvincing events, before the film makers slap you in the face with an ending that combines the worst of Bond with a Duran Duran video.It's painfully obvious they have eked out the production using Dr Who style improvised special effects in order to include a few good (if a little Babylon 5) CGI set pieces.
There is an obvious lack of research done here and given the open-source nature of the cyber-community, research would have cost little more than a bulletin board and personal time.DVD interviews also reveal the original movie name was "Company Man" but this likely ditched in order to cash in on Matrix hype.
I really liked director Vincenzo Natali's 'Cube', so my expectations were godamn high when I stepped into the cinema (despite the fact that one of the worst actor of our age, Lucy Liu, stars in it).I was fairly confident that the main guy, played appallingly by Jeremy Northam, would get killed off fairly soon, since his acting was so terrible that I dreaded the possibility that I could be forced to watch any more of it.No, the film never really takes off.It's rubbish as rubbish goes.Dull, uninspired and not innovative at all.I wouldn't even recommend it to hardcore sci-fi fans (sadistic tendencies put aside)..
I decided to watch Cypher after seeing it labeled sci-fi thriller-- now that I have seen it, I would rather label it a cliché spy film with slight sci-fi undertones.The movie centers around the concepts of unknown identity and corporate brainwash, which sound pretty interesting on the surface.
But then you add the whole femme fatale part, turn the geeky protagonist into a slick, skirt-chasing spy and create a plot with more holes than swiss cheese-- and you have Cypher.I have seen one other Vincenzo Natali movie, Splice, and I feel both films start with a great idea, but become caught up in clichéd plot techniques and flat, lifeless characters.If you're into slick spy films, then you will most likely enjoy this.
But if you want concepts like brainwash and unknown identity put into a unique, stylish, science fiction film (as I did when reading the user reviews for this movie), then forget about Cypher.
I have seen director Vincenzo Natali's Cube, which obviously didn't have the strongest of talent in it, but they story made it all worth watching.**Same with this film!
It's a spy thriller, has elements of noir, bits and pieces of action, science fiction, and cyberpunk all tied together with a brilliant narrative, mind-bending plot twists, and gorgeous cinematography.A lot of the comments here have centered around it being derivative, both in good and bad ways, of other movies.
After having watched it I must say that 7.4 is a bit too much (especially since the brilliant "Cube" only got 7.3 stars), but "Cypher" is indeed an interesting movie.
The other question, namely will he sleep with Lucy Liu is irrelevant but kept me going throughout the running time in ways I'd rather we didn't discuss.Brian King's script arguably has plenty of satirical edge - corporate zombies brainwashed and literally reformulated by technological conglomarates, Suites working for large companies drugged into accepting a life of suburbian normalcy etc...but although this all works fairly well, even to the point of rendering Cypher strangely lifeless and perhaps too cold in its dramatatic thrust, this is first a foremost a sci-fi potboiler - not a whodunnit more a whoamiandwhatthehellisgoingon?The direction, like the script is methodical and carefully layered - arguably a little too much so.
Whereas Cube was taut, well-made, claustrophobic and mind-engaging, I'm afraid Cypher is a bloated, tedious rehash of several well-worn themes which just don't add up to much, especially if you have seen almost any other half-way decent sci-fi film before.Cypher manages to drag all the way through its relatively short 95 minutes right to the incompetent ending.
Yep, that means I liked it more than Shutter Island/Inception (both Leonardo DiCaprio, 2010).The first movie directed by Vincenzo Natali I ever saw was Cube (1997), and I liked it so much that I even sought out and enjoyed Cube 2: Hypercube (2002; I like the DVD's alternate endings more than the film itself), and Cube Zero (2004).
Morgan Sullivan (Jeremy Northam,) tiring of his dull suburban life, gets a job as an industrial spy for a huge software house, but quickly finds himself in a bafflingly complex and perilous web of deception involving a rival corporation, brainwashing, a sinister, inaccessible Mr. Big, and a mysterious femme fatale (Lucy Liu) who appears at crucial moments only to vanish.Cypher is an intelligent sci-fi/espionage/thriller, stylishly filmed and well acted.
(It seems to be set in a near future -- at any rate, the technology used seems a bit beyond what currently exists.) It's a low-budget film that doesn't look low budget thanks to the the skill of director Vincenzo Natali (best known for Cube,) and features one of the more clever surprise endings you'll find.
Watched an absolutely wonderful twisty turny psych-thriller movie on Netflix called "CYPHER" even though it is 13 years old had never heard of it before and it is amazingly good.
It is here that we find things may not be what they seem.This movie was directed by Vincenzo Natali, who took us on a great journey in the original and great horror psych thriller flick "The Cube".
Halfway through the movie, you may guess and think you know the answer but be aware you will NOT because the clues NEVER stop until the very ending.Overall a terrific movie, the writing and direction the movie takes are amazing, the acting and chemistry could have been better especially by Lucy Liu, she does fall flat and at times stiff and others just aloof (not much character development), it could just be the way her character was written, directed or just her acting.
His follow up is just as smart and engaging but unfortunately a lot less well known.Cypher follows Jeremy Northam (delivering a wonderfully transformative performance) as an office worker who becomes entangled in a web of high tech corporate espionage.While individual elements have clearly been cribbed from some more high profile films, taken as whole Cypher feels stylish, cerebral and even unexpectedly emotional by the end credits.
It was made in 2002, and, 12 years later, Lucy Liu looks exactly the same -- great.Jeremy Northram plays Morgan Sullivan, a bored suburbanite, who takes a job as an industrial spy for a company called Digicorp, an international computer corporation.His job turns out to be not that exciting at first.
Despite a lot of switching things around, twisting the plot several times and following orders that are put across in a way to make them seem that the world will end if they're not carried out; the one thing that seems the most dangerous is any romantic link or connection with Lucy Liu's character  and she's trying to help out(!) The film maintains that feeling of two sides battling a war of espionage, spying and keeping one up on its employees and opponents.
If you like a well-written and well-directed spy story/movie, its definitely worth the time.
If you like a spy/movie story where peak attention isn't acquired to follow the plot (as in James Bond), don't waste your time on this beauty.
The movie: They keep the visual effects to a minimum, it is nothing flashy, although the view inside the computer core made me think of a nice little modeling job made simple...The movie manages to grasp the unknown, and does not reveal any of the truth until the very end....which makes it so good..Character performancesLucy Lu: Decent performances, but it seems almost as she is struggling to keep the role interesting.
then I heard it was from the team that brought us CUBE and I knew I would have to watch it.A couple of weeks later I took the plunge to buy it first on DVD with its very loverly box design 'Hats off to the box designer'  Very Funky.The film takes place in the not to distant future and brings us the story about identity in a gripping spy thriller where you are never quite sure what is going to happen next.Considering it was a low budget film (see the extras on the dvd for proof of this) they have managed to bring the vision and paranoia to the movie with relative ease.If you imagine James Bond films mixed with the matrix and an element of Minority report your on the right tracks.The ending is a little weak, but trying to find a film with a good ending is the hard.If you like intellegent films with dimension and mystery which at no point explain everything and nanny you...
Much like this directors previous effort Cube, Cypher is a stylishly filmed, one concept movie.I thought it was rather protracted plot wise, and the dialogue was pretty stunted, and not particularly realistic.
However it was shot with an extremely moody atmosphere with really nice sets and costumes, there is very little action and minimal special effects, which makes a nice change, since most directors now seem to think that wire stunts and time lapse effects are a pre-requisite for a Sci-Fi movie, and like Cube, Cypher succeeds on a purely aesthetic level.I watched it because as a matter of course I watch every sci-fi movie that gets made, and it didn't leave me totally flat, but it seems to me that Natali usually gets a better performance out of his cinematographer than he does out of his cast.
Liu and Northam : great performances this movie should have had a shot in cinemas rather than any of the hollywood dogmeat big budgets of the last few years!
Again, Natali is making a very good sci-fi movie with few special effects.
Cypher starts out with an interesting premise -- corporate espionage -- but then attempts to add twists & turns and layer upon layer, before pretty soon you have no idea what is going on, who are the good guys, who are the bad guys...what you're watching at all.The (apparently) deliberate monochromatic visual tones, pedestrian acting and dull CGI sequences don't help either.
Cypher is much deeper, more complex and - what belongs the story and the ending - also much, much more satisfying than Vincenzo Natali's other movies "Cube" and "Nothing".
A great indirect story about identity and modern society.I liked the color in which the movie is slightly tainted, reminder of a film noir and yet with a modern twist (kind of a Minority Report set and feeling).
Director Vincenzo Natali's earlier "Cube" (1997) was a fascinating film, and that was reason enough to give "Cypher" (2002) a look."Cypher" makes a very intriguing start; a man named Morgan Sullivan (Jeremy Northam) is being interviewed by Digicorp's head of security and is being put through some neurological tests.
"Mission Impossible"-like athletic stunts and nick of time narrow escapes put a dent in the film's grave atmosphere and transport the viewer to the world of popcorn cinema for those brief moments!Nonetheless, a very sincere and convincing lead performance by the underrated Jeremy Northam and a steady pace that doesn't let up, make for an engaging and entertaining sci-fi noir thriller.
still, if you are into lower budget movies much higher on creativity and originality, you can't miss cypher.Why?Awesome acting, with Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu (I have to agree, vastly underrated, but then again Hollywood and America want their stars to be white or black generally, how sad) giving performances that make many famous stars look like department stores dummies in comparisonLow budget effects but visually ultra stylish and very creative (as an example, our hero, basically a zero, lives in a neighborhood where, seen from above, the nondescript suburban homes form the image of a 0, just one of the many little details that add depth to the viewing experience)A very interesting story and plenty of thought provoking dialogs and situations; clever, well-crafted, interesting until the last minute.But then again, nothing that surprising when you consider that it's a work of the same director of "Cube", a cult, low-budget, Canadian Sci-Fi movie still remembered as extremely original by all fans of intelligent science fiction, too bad this fantastic new effort went unnoticed, the director and the actors deserved much more recognition for it..
Set in the near future, in a world of corporate espionage and the value of data being the most important thing of all, we follow the lead character, Morgan Sullivan, played by Jeremy Northam, into a world of mind numbing, and later on, mind bending conferences.
But I would definitely recommend this film for viewers who like their sci-fi movies to be intelligent rather than action packed.
The plot is good enough to see the movie without being bored, but is not tight enough to be thrilled or captured by it.Cypher definitely has an interesting idea, but the execution is not as tight as it should be, and one can guess what is going on from the half.O, I almost forgot.
As for the cast, well, Jeremy Northam is fine as the everyday 'grey man' caught up in an adventure that's rapidly spiralling out of control, and Lucy Liu, who I usually dislike, has never been better.CYPHER is one of those films it's best to not know too much about when you watch it; keeping up with the twisty-turny plotting is part of the appeal.
A very intriguing independent Sci-fi thriller Canadian film by Vincenzo Natali.It is a story of corporation espionage in a nearby future in which the control of the workers' minds is used to access the enemies' secrets.