Year:
2000
Studio:
New Line Cinema
Movie:
3/5
DVD:
4/5
The Cell is
somewhat of a thriller wherein the main differentiating element is
journeying through a serial killer's mind. We have to three people. The
first is Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez), a junior psychologist
working at an experimental center. The people there have developed a
procedure to insert your consciousness into another's mind. They're
using this technique to try to encourage a young coma victim to wake up
(his parents apparently being big sponsors of the center).
Then we have Carl Rudolph Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio), a totally
messed up individual who gets his kicks by kidnapping young women and
drowning them in a glass cage while they're being taped. He has lots of
personal problems, to say the least. Meanwhile FBI Agent Peter Novak
(Vince Vaughn) is after Stargher and obsesses about catching Stargher
before he kills again.
The two elements meet when the FBI finally catches Stargher.
Unfortunately, Stargher has lapsed into a coma due to a medical
condition. Julia Hickson (Tara Subkoff), Stargher's latest victim, has
less than 40 hours to live before her glass cage starts being pumped
full of water. How can they get Julia's location if Stargher is in a
coma? Good thing about that new brain transfer procedure.
The last half of the movie is Catherine (and then Peter) going into
Stargher's mind, finding out what makes him tick, then trying to cure
him (Catherine) and get Julia's location (Peter).
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The movie is
visually quite stunning. Director Tarsem Singh may come off as quite
the egomaniac, but he does have the talent to back it up. It's a
journey through surreal settings of the mind, though without making it
an incomprehensible mess. When you listen to the commentary, you will
realize just how much work and effort was made to make this into a
visually arresting movie.
The DVD has commentary by director Singh. Quite an interesting talker
but he did have it in for Tara Subkoff because she said she could swim
and couldn't. That really hurt some of his precious shots and Singh
just goes on and on about how mad he was and still is at her for the
deception.
Some of the production team provide the second commentary track. Less
opinion and more facts and anecdotes. There are eight deleted scenes
along with director's commentary -- actual significant new material
unlike some other DVD deleted scenes (and even more of Catherine
Sutherland (playing the first shown victim Anne Marie Vicksey) dead and
naked, I just kept thinking "dude, you just killed the Pink Ranger!").
There is a 12-minute featurette on Tarsem's style, six vignettes
showing the visual effects of parts of the movie, and some other stuff
that isn't interesting.
What did I like? It's a twisted, great-looking film. What did I not
like? It's sometimes *too* twisted and sick. The movie is at times too
subtle and seemingly in love with coming with weird visuals. In the end
the story was merely average.
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