Review of 8MM (1999) by Jack H — 26 Nov 2012
Private investigator Tom Welles (Nicolas Cage) goes on the hunt in the seedy part of Hollywood, looking for a young girl that was shown murdered on a 8mm film reel owned by a wealthy widow's deceased husband.
The trail leads him to the world of underground illegal pornography and with the help of adult video store clerk Max California (Joaquin Phoenix), attempts to break the case without getting caught up with the demons that come with it.
Nicolas Cage's acting is the same in every film he partakes in, but this one really caught my eye and is quite possibly one of the most underrated films in his film catalogue. The graphic nature of 8MM was a courageous step for director Joel Schumacher and he brought it out in a rather tasteful manner.
The atmosphere of the film glides through black and blue tint as the character of Welles wanders through this underground maze looking for the missing girl, coming upon colorful character after another.
As you get deeper into the film you see his character start to descend into this snuff world, unable to stop until he reaches his goal. Peter Stormare as Dino Velvet only has maybe ten to fifteen minutes of screen-time, but he captures the whole of the film on that time he was given.
I always enjoy when he surfaces in films, he carries that dark edge to his persona and darkens the plot even more. Writer Andrew Kevin Walker, who also penned Se7en, has the mind of a deep abyss, drawing you into his world where only a select few can understand and stomach.
I know the content displayed here might be off-putting to some, as evident by the many critics who bashed the film, but this is no imaginary setting; it's a real topic. A topic that most people don't want to think or know about, but it's around us nevertheless.
As one of the characters state in the film, "There's no mystery. The things I do--I do them because I like them. Because I want to.", something that encapsulates the film and has it pushed into a realm all its own in Hollywood cinema.
This review of 8MM (1999) was written by Jack H on 26 Nov 2012.
8MM has generally received mixed reviews.
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