The Cell

Tags

2000's, Dylan Baker, Horror, Jennifer Lopez, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Tarsem Singh, The Cell, Thriller, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio

Film Title

The Cell

Director

Tarsem Singh

Starring

• Jennifer Lopez as Catherine Deane
• Vince Vaughn as Agent Peter Novak
• Vincent D’Onofrio as Carl Stargher
• Dylan Baker as Henry West
• Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Dr. Miriam Kent

A visually disturbing and unique film, but also hollow and poorly plotted, The Cell is sometimes its own worst enemy in terms of what it wants to be. It may boast the occasional moment of understanding, but you just get the feeling it could have been so much more if differences were made to it.

Catherine Deane is a psychologist who deals with cases of comatose patients. Through an unusual and high-tech treatment, she can place herself in the mind of the patient and try to connect with them, in the hoped of coaxing them out of their coma. The FBI enlists her services when Carl Stargher, a serial killer falls into a coma after kidnapping his latest victim. Carl keeps his victims in a confined cell in an unknown location that eventually fills with water to slowly drown them. Carl after killing them commits atrocities to their bodies and crafts the women into human dolls. With Carl now in a comatose state, the whereabouts of his latest victim are not known and Agent Peter Novak wants to save the woman before it is too late. Catherine agrees to enter Carl’s mind in order to discover where the latest victim is. Yet she is not prepared for what greets her when she enters his mind. It manifests as disturbing images from his childhood in which his father routinely abused him and strange visions of the adult Carl who delights in graphic and sadistic murder. While trying to stop herself getting too involved with the increasingly bizarre visions and discerning herself that it is all not a reality, Catherine becomes lost in this dangerous dreamscape believing it to be real. Now caged in his mind along with Peter who ventures in to help her, she must find a way out before her time runs out.

If The Cell was purely judged from a visual standpoint, it would be a masterpiece. Director Tarsem Singh knows how to shoot these vivid and very disturbing journeys into Carl’s warped mind with style and verve. Striking and unusual images abound: a horse is cut in half and its still beating heart is shown, the walls of a palace become the cloak of Carl as a king, Catherine imprisoned in a gravity defying cage and also being dressed in unusually restrictive clothing as a fantasy figure. The list could go on about how amazing the film looks, it’s a shame that the plotting, pacing and writing could have been much better. Singh has a craft when it comes to the fantasy and horror aspects, but his grasp of pace and other things isn’t as deft. In the beginning, The Cell just meanders along for big stretches and only really comes alive when Catherine enters into Carl’s twisted psyche. Character development among the supporting cast and Vince Vaughn’s character is almost non-existent and none of them are really that interesting.  As I mentioned earlier, The Cell doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. It feels like a three-way cross between a thriller, horror and dashes of fantasy. And while I have nothing against the melding of genres together, The Cell lurches from one to the other without a care and it just makes the film feel messy. At least there’s a Middle Eastern infused score from Howard Shore that compliments the haunting cornucopia of imagery and keeps the plot going despite the flaws of it.

Jennifer Lopez, while not being the first person to spring to mind in playing a psychologist, actually brings warmth and sympathy to her underwritten character. Lopez must also get credit for the amount of convincing fear she portrays when she is entangled in the dreams and memories of Carl. Vince Vaughn tries his best but is saddled with such an uninteresting character, that he can’t really register anything of memory. The real acting highlight of The Cell is Vincent D’Onofrio. Bringing his considerable hulking and physical presence to the role, he delves into the disturbed mind of Carl and gives us the child in a man’s body who has no idea of right and wrong due to the horrendous abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. When you finish this film, it will be D’Onofrio that you will remember. Dylan Baker and Marianne Jean-Baptiste are given absolutely nothing to do as fellow psychologists and their inclusion adds up to nothing.

So for all the audacity and visual impact, The Cell doesn’t add up to an excellent movie.

Mirror, Mirror

Tags

2010's, Armie Hammer, Comedy, Fantasy, Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Mirror Mirror, Nathan Lane, Sean Bean, Tarsem Singh

Film Title

Mirror, Mirror

Director

Tarsem Singh

Starring

• Lily Collins as Snow White
• Julia Roberts as The Queen
• Armie Hammer as Prince Alcott
• Nathan Lane as Brighton
• Sean Bean as The King

A visually splendid but somewhat lacking retelling of the Snow White fairy tale, Mirror, Mirror is opulent to look at but not a wholly successful update. It is a movie of both positives and negatives, yet this comedy/fantasy still leaves you somewhat deflated after watching.

Once upon a time, we see that a young princess by the name of Snow White was born, though her mother died in childbirth. Her grieving father the King married a most beautiful woman, before he mysteriously vanished in the dark forest and was presumed dead. The beautiful yet insecure Queen takes guardianship over Snow White and began to show her true colours by locking her away from the outside world out of fear that her beauty will outshine hers. Her reasoning for this is her magic mirror, which informs her that her beauty will be surpassed by Snow White. The envious Queen has also left the kingdom destitute as a result of her increasing vanity. She is advised to seek out a rich husband and she finds an ideal candidate in the form of the hapless but dashing Prince Alcott. The problem is that he is besotted with the beautiful and innocent Snow White. Enraged, she sends her servant Brighton out into the forest to kill her. Brighton can’t go through with it and lets the young girl escape deep into the forest. There she is taken in by a group of dwarf bandits, who steal what they can from people crossing through the woods. Exiled by the Queen, the seven bandits begin to teach Snow White the tricks of their trade, helping her to grow stronger in order for her to take back the throne that is rightfully hers by birth before the evil Queen can bewitch Prince Alcott into marrying her.

Director Tarsem Singh brings his usual control over splendid visuals and wonderous imagery to the table in Mirror, Mirror. It must be said that the sets are spectacular to look at and the costume design is simply breathtaking in its extravagance. Yet visuals and style are not enough to make Mirror, Mirror a film of originality or power. The jaunty tone of the film is something of a double-edged sword; in certain instances the anachronistic approach works excellently and allows for a lot of laughs. But other times it spills over into the realms of juvenile ridiculousness that is just too unbelievable to take seriously. Just like Into the Woods, I didn’t mind the occasional bending of classic stories. As a matter of fact, many of these switch ups where quite enjoyable, particularly making the seven dwarfs bandits. But at times, Mirror, Mirror just strayed too far over the line of keeping it classic but with added twists that are needless. There’s just something missing here that I can’t put my finger on. The same can’t be said about the score which contributes lively glee and carefree spirit to the uneven film.

Thankfully most of the acting can rise above the flaws of the movie and be very enjoyable. Lily Collins possesses the porcelain beauty and winsome charm for Snow White, but manages to give her a plucky attitude later on and show that she is no mere damsel in distress. The character could have easily been the fawning and helpless princess we are used to seeing, but Collins radiates something different with her version of Snow White. Julia Roberts sinks her teeth into her role as the evil Queen, displaying her insecurity and catty remarks to others with the aplomb of a supreme bitch. Roberts is having a great time here and makes the most of the part, at least managing to give the audience something to laugh about during the course of the movie. The standout performance in Mirror, Mirror comes from Armie Hammer. I liked how he didn’t take himself to seriously here and how he gave Prince Alcott a goofball charm, a penchant for walking into trouble and a certain silliness. He is the prince of the narrative, but the fact that he isn’t the main hero and is often quite hapless in a fight was really funny to view. Nathan Lane is suitably hilarious as Brighton, the Queen’s lap dog who often finds himself in over his head but Sean Bean is wasted in the small role as Snow White’s father. I must give compliments to the actors playing the dwarfs as they really do have a great repertoire with each other and help give Mirror, Mirror some charm that it desperately needs.

So all in all, Mirror, Mirror is a visually dazzling and handsomely designed take on a fairy tale. But that’s all it really is, save for some impressive performances and tweaks to the traditional Snow White narrative.