Review of Looper (2012) by Jessica L — 31 May 2016

A fantastical futuristic film about the implications of virtual time travel and the headaches it will inevitably bring, Looper is an intriguing and fascinating sci-fi full of big ideas delivered in an economical way. Often internally confused and baffled by the implications subject, writer/director Rian Johnson does a wonderful job of presenting the labyrinthine plot and tricky details of time travel without feeling the need to 'fry your brain like an egg'.

A thoughtful and visually-inventive young filmmaker, Johnson sticks to his roots in the 'what if' scenario taking care to neatly blur the lines and expose his own love-hate unique brand of sordid reality. Left wanting more, film raises confronting issues and existential conundrums alike about mortality, responsibility, loyalty, love, faith, parenthood, and redemption with each character forced to dire lengths in the name of survival.

In the year 2074, not only does time travel exists but is illegal and only available for use on the black market as a body disposal system.

Working for the Mafia in 2044, 25-year-old retro-hipster Joe Simmons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is getting rich quick and living the high life as a 'Looper'. When the future mob wants to dispose of a target, they send them bound, gagged and hooded back 30 years to an empty field where hired-gun Joe dutifully awaits with his blunderbuss gun to carry out the required perfect assassination; no body, no evidence, no crime.

But when a new overlord known only as the Rainmaker becomes the prevailing authority deciding to 'close the loop', Joe's future self (Bruce Wills) is zapped through the portal without any restraints. Hesitating over his own face for just a moment, young Joe inadvertently allows his counterpart to escape.

The sentinel-from-the-future Abe (Jeff Daniels) who controls activities in 2044 has little tolerance for escape attempts and treason, sending his hired-gun Gat Men to dispose of them both. Fighting to save his life, young Joe hunts his older self in hopes of restoring order and returning to his original plan of retirement in France, but on a mission of his own to stop the rainmaker, old Joe with 30 years extra experience is not an easy target, and if they actually catch up to each other, could they really kill themselves?

Finding refuge on an isolated farm that is one of older Joe's targets, Joe meets feisty single mom Sara (Emily Blunt) and her unusually gifted (even for the time) son, Cid (Pierce Gagnon). Does Cid hold the key to the future, Can either Joe get the morally right job done?

Morphed with subtle facial moulding and an impeccably augmented diction, matching his counterparts' mannerisms and sly smile proving the devil really is in the detail, Gordon-Levitt is artful in his performance, credible even as a killer. Willis finally seems to connect with his character conveying Old Joe's moral quandaries and engaging with texture rather with his fists.

Blunt adapts well to being an American heroine and has a palpable chemistry with Gordon-Levitt, the greying Daniels is outstanding as the garrulous time-transposed head gang honcho, Paul Dano's panicked cameo aptly sets up the premise. With a promising career lying in wait, this is merely the beginning for the young and exceptionally talented Pierce Gagnon.

The Verdict: Definitely one of the cleanest time-travel fables ever, Looper takes the time and effort to explain its theory and sketchy worlds without getting bogged down in the ramshackle of its subject and that's no easy feat. It's a great feeling to walk out of a film and feel compelled to ask yourself a question; in this case, if I knew changing killing just one person could save the lives of millions, would I do it?

Published: The Queanbeyan Age.

Date of Publication: 05/10/2012.