1995’s “Strange Days”, directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Julliete Lewis, Vincent
D'Onofrio, Glenn Plummer, Willam Fichtner, Joseph Sommer, and Richard Edson.
Depicting a basically present day (back in 1995…) alternate
reality, we see Ralph Fiennes playing a formerly disgraced cop, who now sells
“experiences”: a type of virtual reality. Subjects wear what’s called a SQUID (superconducting
quantum interference device), that looks like an upside down facehugger, to
record their experiences. These experiences are then sold on the black market
as “playback” discs, and range in content from people jogging in the surf, to
snuff films. Fiennes cruises through the Los Angeles streets, looking to peddle
other people’s experiences, as a borderline war zone plays out around him.
Police, bound in riot gear, arrest citizens on the streets (particularly it would
seem minorities) and have check points through the city. We’re also introduced
to some serious pre-millennial tension, with the new millennium ready to start
in a few days. To get away from it all, Fiennes spends his leisure time pining
for the one who got away (Juliette Lewis). Immersed in footage of himself
spending intimate time with his now ex girlfriend, Fiennes clearly hasn’t moved
on. Lewis has migrated to the superbly named Filo (Michael Wincott, at his most
effeminate), a record producer who may be able to advance Lewis’ singing
career. We meet Fiennes’ entourage, a private investigator (Tom Sizemore, in a
questionable wig and unconvincing as a friend) whom Fiennes has known a while,
who doesn’t seem to mind sabotaging Fiennes’ playback deals, and uber
responsible limo driver (Bassett, at her ass kicking best). Meanwhile, a
controversy brews on the news, as a Tupac-like rapper (represented by Wincott) is
killed, fuelling racial tension. An escort, hanging out with the rapper’s
entourage when the slaying went down, records the event with a SQUID, and is on
the run from the police. She gets a copy to Fiennes, and him and his gang must
track down the murderers.
Reading what I just wrote, “SD” is a convoluted mess.
Somewhat similar to Bigelow’s “Point Break”, it’s an ambitious misfire that has
some strong ideas that are severely hamstrung by clunky dialogue and movie
clichés, sometimes hilariously so. Standing on the peripheral, it’s science
fiction setting of a hideous reality, showcasing so well the appeal of virtual
reality and being able to experience other people’s senses and consciousness, is
inspired. And it’s every day draconian state law enforcement officials preying on
an oppressed population (particularly the black portion) rings as prescient in today’s
America as ever. Certainly, “SD”’s heart is in the right place. But Fiennes
spends the movie pining for Lewis, who is bafflingly fickle and overrated-
while Bassett, possibly the strongest and most driven ass kicking performance
here since at least Signourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley, caters to Fiennes, who
seems blind to her charms while she bails him out of one precarious scrape
after another. The murder mystery plot is bone grindingly obvious and silly,
since it’s difficult to believe the murderer would be able to slip undetected
amongst the cast. And the 2 outlaw cops (D'Onofrio and Fichtner) are so over
the top with their violent hatred and seemingly indestructible ways, they resemble
a hybrid of horror movie/action stars. “SD” even features the trademark
“overconfident villain who gives away how he accomplished his nefarious deeds”,
a movie trope not welcome here. Finally, the story of a police force that is
out of control is shown with the intensity of the 1992 Rodney King beating
footage, but resolved with a carnival and a movie. With his never ending well
of talents, James Cameron can create any world he wants, but sometimes when he
writes, strange days indeed.
2.5/5
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