Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Dark City / Australia/USA / 1998

One of those films that was made for late-night screenings—in fact, I’d say it was destined to be shown in theatres at the onset of midnight—Dark City proves that not all films about the dystopic future are as they appear. In fact, considering the bewildering storyline, it’s hard to explain what the film is even about, so this little pseudo-summary will have so suffice: John Murdoch wakes up in a world of perpetual darkness where, at 12:00 every night, wrinkle-faced underlings in high-necked trench-coats stop time and allow anachronistic buildings to sprout from the ground; soon, John falls into the hands of William Hurt’s Inspector Bumstead, who plays the accordion. At the same time, an asthmatic doctor who’s been enslaved by the slender beings as their Picasso of Life tries to reveal the true nature of the dark utopia to John, seeking refuge during his off-time in an abandoned community pool.

A pretty crappy summary, if you ask me, but it’s what brought me to Dark City in the first place. And to think, director Alex Proyas followed this up with Garage Days and I, Robot. Dark City is one of the better films to tackle…well…whatever the hell it tackles, I won’t spoil it here, but whoever decided on giving Keifer Sutherland’s Daniel Schreber a wheezing stutter should be kicked in the groin. Still, nobody plays deceptive, hairless villains like Richard O’Brien, and the late Ian Richardson gets into a fight scene near the film’s end that defies both expectations and gravity. I loved the ten-fold, knee-deep, noir feel, the solipsistic atmosphere, and the dire beauty of a world that is, like it or not, beyond understanding.

by Adam Balz | Source: New Line DVD
18 Feb 2007 5:15 PM | Comments (3)

Comments / 3 total / Submit Comment

1. herzberg@ris.at / 19 February 2007 / 7:03 AM / URL

   That should be William, not John, Hurt. I like Dark City, if only for Jennifer Connelly doing Sway. I’ve never had much problem with the plot, even though it might not make perfect sense, as it’s quite obvious what’s going on. Mostly, as I dimly remember, because the movie stops every so often to spell it out…

2. Adam B. / 19 February 2007 / 8:59 AM / URL

   Problem fixed: William, not John, though admittedly the latter may have made the film much more interesting.

3. Paul Herzberg / 19 February 2007 / 10:19 AM / URL

   Well, more John Hurt never, er, hurt anybody. May be if they’d have given him Kiefer’s part he would have made the exposition a little more bearable.

   In full ham-mode, maybe like he voiced Aragorn in Bakshi’s LotR, it would be fun at least:

   “FIRST! … therewas DARKness … then CAME the strangerssss.