Review of Strange Days (1995) by Ghost A — 05 Sep 2009

It just dawned on me that much of Kathryn Bigelow's work has been 'overlooked', having used this same word in the 'Near Dark' (1987) review just a couple of hours ago. Could that have something to do with the fact that she is a woman and, since action-movie directing is such a male-driven arena, her work has been somewhat hidden from public view??Nah, it can't be that! Anyway, here is another of her near genre-defining films and this time we are in the science fiction arena, 'Tech Noir' to be precise and I am not just referring to the nightclub in The Terminator (1984, James Cameron).

The 'Tech Noir' genre explores the frailty of human beings when compared to the power and strength of machinery and technology. It also looks at how the human body can be used and manipulated by that technology if allowed.

'Strange Days' presents all of these things and also throws in a healthy dose of morality. Ralph Fiennes is the former policeman who now earns his money by getting what he can from the street.

A small-time hustler, Fiennes' weakness, his love for the virtual reality experience, is a huge nod towards the trials and tribulations of James Woods' cable guy in Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983).

One day he witnesses a VR moment which is all too real and intense to have been acted out. His life now in danger due to what he has seen, our reluctant hero is joined on his travels by the mysterious Angela Bassett, the seductive Juliette Lewis and macho man Tom Sizemore.

Who can he trust? Who can he turn to? Knowing that lives will be at stake if the video he witnessed in released into the hands of the public, Ralph must do the right thing by himself and his peers. The audience is asked what their response would be if it were them in Fiennes' shoes.