Review of Dark City (1998) by Stuart G — 16 Nov 2011

Though ultimately a lackluster effort, but ambitious and ravenously astute, Dark City is the best neo-noir sci-fi ever attempted, and beautifully executed. It holds each element in the palm of its hand and instead of squashing it like a bug, lays the groundwork with impressive set designs (reused for the Wachowski Brothers' The Matrix), bleak photography and cinematography, and acting that is far and beyond that of the cast called upon.

For one thing, Connelly has always made beautifully resonant films, instead of the fluff of the eighties we were ingratiated towards. The lead of the film is amnesiac John Murdoch, played by Rufus Sewell.

The fact that he has no memory plays well into the neo-noir aspect, since these "Strangers" work as the police would in the same sense, except in a world that mirrors complete darkness and lack of any true emotion, it's easier to centralize one villain as a large entity rather than a single person.

The concept behind the world itself was the most interesting part, though it's not unearthed (without the voice over narration) until an hour in, and all the ambiguous buildup gave me a headache. It was enjoyable to watch the storyline unfold as it did, and with the introduction of the Strangers could have lent to a more particular mind figuring it out sooner, but I leave my viewing up in the air with suspense of disbelief.

Besides that, the effects were very low budget for a nineties film, and one that was well financed at that. The Matrix, made just one year later, had the computer generated output to create much more effective visuals, but couldn't completely replicate the dreary cityscape that Alex Proyas imagined so vividly.

At times I almost wondered if this world was our own, and the ending reflected the protagonist as a Jesus like figure, sacrificing his own happiness through ignorance for one as creator, perhaps all of our lives relatively only real to us and the basis of our lives are simply the memories we have.

The whole film deals with our souls through memory, and whether or not it actually is in our emotions rather than experiences and thought processes. Also, the climax of the film felt rushed, as the final battle between good and evil used bad effects and didn't truly work with the overall storyline the film was already following.

It would have been great to lead into other great Proyas work, but we have sadly all been let down, yet this gem at least exists to fuel the discussion for another day.