- directed by Matt Reeves
The reckless journey of a group of young friends through a monster-ravaged New York is documented entirely by handheld video camera.
Surely, by now, most people have seen this film. That said, I'm still gonna tip-toe around the most spoilerrific points of the film. I won't be surprising anyone by revealing this is a monster movie above all things, and a great one to boot. It's fun. I think that's a point that often gets lost with this film. So much has been made about this argument over it's potential disappointment as a whole, about whether or not it lived up to the expectations created by the compelling teaser trailer released last Summer. Expectations are a dicey thing, and mainly a failing on the part of the audience to appreciate things for what they are. This is a good movie, period. A great, suspenseful, action-filled monster flick. I don't know what else audiences wanted.
The fact that J.J. Abrams had a hand in producing this film also means there's a lot of depth here, much to take away and explore if you choose to do so. There's a grand, expansive online element outside of the experience of the film that offers hints to answers never delivered during the course of that story. It's something I only got lost in after having seen the movie, and something I'm not taking into account with this review. Objectively, the sole experience of the film itself is truly solid and stands on its own as a great piece of storytelling.
Lastly, I just wanted to make a comment on the actual mechanics of the storytelling; the use of handheld video camera... that first-person perspective. Well maybe I just wanted to throw out there my interest in the way that perspective, in general, is played around with in this... not film, but experience. The totality of Cloverfield is an interesting thing to contemplate. There's too much there to dive into but... above all, I was taken by the way in which media played an active role in this story... and the thought of what role it plays in the story of our lives. These cameras, these phones, these computers, truth, lies, answers, questions, secrets, etc. There's something there. I don't know what it is exactly, but I thought it was interesting. The influx of information... it's mutability... it's importance... accessing it, sharing it... I don't know, I found myself lost in... uhhh... I know I'm not explaining myself very well, but whatever it is I'm blathering on about in this paragraph... that space was the headspace I was in after having watched this film. It's very relevant, very pertinent, very now and new. In some ways I feel there's a twinge of the revolutionary somewhere in here... if that makes sense (probably not :P ).
7.5/10 A lot of fun and well worth the price of admission. Worth watching if only for it's experiment with this type of storytelling. Though, be warned... not for those with weak stomachs, my brother can attest to that fact. Luckily I'm quite resistant to vertigo, if you are too watch this movie. ;)
DS333, still.
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