Review of Paranoia (2013) by Movie P — 28 Dec 2013

Have you ever been slapped in the face? Like, really hard? Or physically affronted in any manner? Well, if you have, you should be aware of the impression it leaves. Less a physical mark than a blow to your very psyche, as though your body, your very soul wants to give up. It may only last for a split-second after getting slapped, punched, whatever, but if you know the feeling, you know what's it's like to watch Paranoia. I had planned to sit down and watch two movies the night I watched Paranoia (the other being White House Down), but after experiencing this film, it was as though all the energy, the positivity, the enthusiasm for cinema was drained out of my body. It left me feeling hollow, and not the cathartic (almost rewarding) hollow of Steve McQueen's Shame. No, this film is the equivalent of having everything good about cinema stolen from your clutches and torn up in front of your eyes.

The worst part is the attitude the film seems to have about itself. Despite the amateurish and uncoordinated plotting, and the uninspired execution, Paranoia plays like the writers and director actually thought they were crafting an intelligent, prescient parable on the nature of war, espionage and technological advancement. Sorry, but this isn't Metal Gear Solid (a video game whose cut-scenes would make a more satisfying movie than this). Instead, Paranoia is a by-the-numbers techno thriller, brought further down by the ludicrous nature of it's plot, paper-thin characterisation, and ridiculous plot conveniences.

What plot there is to be had is poorly-constructed at best: Liam Hemsworth (don't get me started) plays Adam Cassidy, a young go-getter working for a leading tech company, run by Nicholas Wyatt (Gary Oldman, providing a touch of class to proceedings). Cassidy, whose enthusiasm for mobile phones knows no bounds, plans on pitching his own idea for a new type of social networking device within the phone to Wyatt, with the help of his ragtag group of Beautiful People That We Are Expected To Believe Work In Tech. In one of the film's most-laughable scenes (and that's saying something), Cassidy and co. pitch their idea to Wyatt, who is characterised as a British guy who speaks with a cockney accent, and drinks tea (piping hot, 'cause he's very British, and very stubborn). Being as British as he is, Wyatt turns them down (in a very British manner), and subsequently fires them in retaliation to Cassidy's stubborn refusal to let the idea go. Did I mention Gary Oldman plays a British character?

Upon being fired, Adam, being the mature and responsible 27 year-old that he is, uses a company credit card to get wasted with his friends. During the getting-wasted montage that looks like something out of a commercial, Adam comes upon a nameless woman (Amber Heard), and the two of them form an immediate connection. Flash forward to the next morning, and Adam awakens to find himself in the apartment of the woman, who appears to be a very successful young woman. After some inherently witless banter, the nameless woman explains that Adam isn't her "type" and promptly kicks ditches him. Remember, these two already had sex....

Anyhoo, Wyatt finds out about Adam's credit card fraud, threatens him with jail, and proceeds to offer him a role as a mole in a rival business. Adam, after falling for some tremendously stupid faux-psychology, agrees, seeing the opportunity of a better life ahead of him. He is suited up, given training on what to say and do, and is shunted into a meeting with some business rep from the company (Eikon). There, he happens upon the mysterious girl, who we learn is Emma Jennings, a marketing...person for Eikon. After being very and charming (or something), Adam is offered a job at Eikon (or something). There, he finds a really useful use for a new piece of tech (through complete and utter Deus Ex Machina), and gains the trust of Eikon's CEO, Jock Goddard (Harrison Ford). And so, the cat-and-mouse game begins...

Good God, where does one start when analysing Paranoia? First of all, the term 'paranoia' doesn't apply to the film. At all. The only moments of paranoia occur when Adam knows exactly what's out to get him. When your film doesn't actually contain any of it's title subject, you know you're in trouble. On top of that, the film lacks any sense of forethought. It's based off a book, and it shows. Subplots remain undeveloped, character motivations are hazy at best, and the twists and turns are worthy of an above-mentioned Metal Gear game (only not half as well-executed). These are the hallmarks of amateur adaptation. Nary a sign of tasteful cutting, as the two writers instead (apparently) attempted to shove every minor development of a book into a movie that just touches 100 minutes in length.

Well, a tactless script can sometimes be redeemed by great actors, right? Not in this case. There are four primary players in this picture, and none of them deliver what could be a 'satisfying' performance. Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) isn't the most talented actor. While there is definitely room to grow or find a niche, as it stands, he is not talented enough to hold up such a shaky film. From a very basic standpoint, his emotional range leaves a lot to be desired. He struggles to convey the most basic emotions, favouring the charming quiet-type routine (which is completely cliché). That in itself is enough to guarantee this film's failure, but when you have the rest of the cast delivering B-performances at best, the damage is even more significant.

Amber Heard is charming and likable but again, her writing leaves a lot to be desired. Her character is irritatingly cliché, and she usually accounts for a number of ridiculous plot contrivances. Regardless of how well Heard commits herself, she falls into the same pit of poor writing. The same problem plagues Oldman and Ford, two great actors (though the former moreso than the latter). They give actual, creditable performances, but the writing has it descend into complete farce. Rather than an edgy, engrossing techno-thriller, with noir-ish undertones, as I hope the filmmakers assumed they were making, we get a hilariously-inept, decidedly clunky affair, characterised by faux-intelligent plot devices and twists.

Oh, and Richard Dreyfuss is horrendous as Cassidy's father. Aside from the performances, the execution is sloppy all round. Director Robert Luketic is not suited to action scenes, draining every one of any tension or menace. Neither is his forté in the dramatic side, as any dialogue-heavy scenes fall flat under his unfocused watch. And that's what the film is: Completely unfocused. Nowhere does it ever settle into a nice, monotonous pace (as many terrible films do). Instead, it shifts uncomfortably from quiet, weak introspection, to rote, well-worn action beats. It's bad enough that Paranoia doesn't execute it's pacing well, but that it can't even decide the type of film it wants to be is even worse.

I could go on for days about everything wrong with this film (I haven't even started on the stunningly-bad sound editing), but why bother? Paranoia is simply reprehensible cinema. There is no-one that can watch this film critically and genuinely find much good to say about it. It has the benefit of a budget behind it, but it can't even manage to live up to the standards of enjoyably-bad films like The Room. Rather, Paranoia is a jumble of clichés, poor film-making, atrocious plotting and dull acting. The only reason the score I'm giving it isn't lower isn't due to any particular saving grace to be found within this mess; it's simply for the fact that the film ends before it gets too tragic. Save your money, or better yet, spend it on something really worthwhile.

Final Grade: D.