[7]
[This review is of the 2008 Director’s Cut.]
Director Alex Proyas follows up his cult sensation The Crow with this dark, dystopian sci-fi flick about an amnesiac man (Rufus Sewell) who discovers a sinister force is manipulating him and everyone else in his city. While he’s being framed for the murders of several prostitutes, he entangles with a man claiming to be his doctor (Kiefer Sutherland), a woman claiming to be his wife (Jennifer Connelly), and a detective (William Hurt) who becomes sympathetic to his quest for the truth about their existence.
Dark City turns out to have a story a lot like The Matrix, though it predates that film by a year. Both films are about characters rising to a new level of awareness, overthrowing secretive oppressive forces, and launching crusades to open the eyes of everyone around them. Dark City, co-written by Proyas, Lem Dobbs, and David S. Goyer, may challenge many viewers in the way it hits the ground running, with no exposition, and keeps us in the dark for over half its run time — just like it keeps Sewell’s character.
The characters, by design, aren’t well developed or engrossing on their own. But if you think of the film more as a ‘concept piece’, Proyas does eventually shed plenty of light on all the film’s mysteries. He also provides some solid sci-fi action and many imaginative visuals that harken back to genre classics like Blade Runner and Metropolis. Sewell is an odd choice for the leading man, but the supporting actors are all pleasant as they go through the plot’s motions. Sutherland, in particular, gets to show a new side of himself as an actor. His doctor character is a quirky, vulnerable man, unlike anything we’ve seen him do before. Some may find it emotionally distant, but Dark City moves at a brisk pace and resolves like a solid, feature-length episode of The Twilight Zone. It’s a feast for the senses, full of striking production design, costume design, and cinematography. Trevor Jones’s brooding, pulse-pounding score is certainly a highlight.
With Richard O’Brien, Ian Richardson, and Bruce Spence.