The Cell
3/4
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dylan Baker, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Jake Weber
Rated R for Bizarre Violence and Sexual Images, Nudity and Language
If I had to pick one word to describe "The Cell," it would be this: ambitious. Tarsem Singh's feature film debut (after directing music videos) attempts to do a startling amount of things within a 107 minute time frame. This includes: tell a crime story about a serial killer, explore the psychology behind said serial killer, establish and use a pseudo-science that the plot depends on, and tell a coming of age story (of sorts) of a social worker. In the end, it's a little too much for Tarsem to juggle, but that doesn't mean it's a failure.
Catharine Deane (Lopez) is a social worker with an extremely unusual practice. Instead of talking to her patients, she uses a machine to go deep into their subconscious. There, according to her, is where they can she can see what her patients don't want other people to see. She's working with the comatose son of a billionaire, but progress is slow.
Meanwhile, FBI Agent Peter Novak (Vaughn) is tracking a serial killer who keeps his victims in a cage until they drown in water. But the suspect, a man named Carl Stargher (D'Onofrio), has gone into a deep coma from which he will never wake. The only one who may be able to help them is Catharine, but going into a mind as disturbed as Carl's is extremely dangerous.
The performances aren't standout, but neither do they cause the characters to be lost among the bizarre locales and special effects. Jennifer Lopez is effective, although it's not close to her breakthrough role in "Selena." Vince Vaughn is less successful, but adequate. He's decent in the low-key dramatic scenes, but struggles with heavy emotions. Vincent D'Onofrio is very good in what is really a demanding role, although I still don't forgive him for annoying the hell out of me for playing the inexplicably popular character Det. Van Goren on "Law and Order: Criminal Intent." Dylan Baker and Marianne Jean-Baptiste provide solid support.
Tarsem Singh's most obvious trait is his visual style. From the bizarre settings and even more bizarre costumes, Singh's films are never uninteresting to look at. The costume design by the late Eiko Ishioka and April Napier is both strange and beautiful, and the production design by Tom Foden is creepy. Actually, that's part of the problem. The camera moves a little too quickly at times and with the purposefully obtrusive score by Howard Shore, it becomes a little overbearing. I'm sure that that is the effect that Singh wanted, but it becomes a little too much.
I always appreciate films like "The Cell." They try new things and never take the easy way out. Although the explanation for Carl's violence is cliche, it's at least presented effectively and without exploitation. This kind of risk taking should be encouraged. Who knows what kind of films we might get if filmmakers were allowed to push the boundaries?
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dylan Baker, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Jake Weber
Rated R for Bizarre Violence and Sexual Images, Nudity and Language
If I had to pick one word to describe "The Cell," it would be this: ambitious. Tarsem Singh's feature film debut (after directing music videos) attempts to do a startling amount of things within a 107 minute time frame. This includes: tell a crime story about a serial killer, explore the psychology behind said serial killer, establish and use a pseudo-science that the plot depends on, and tell a coming of age story (of sorts) of a social worker. In the end, it's a little too much for Tarsem to juggle, but that doesn't mean it's a failure.
Catharine Deane (Lopez) is a social worker with an extremely unusual practice. Instead of talking to her patients, she uses a machine to go deep into their subconscious. There, according to her, is where they can she can see what her patients don't want other people to see. She's working with the comatose son of a billionaire, but progress is slow.
Meanwhile, FBI Agent Peter Novak (Vaughn) is tracking a serial killer who keeps his victims in a cage until they drown in water. But the suspect, a man named Carl Stargher (D'Onofrio), has gone into a deep coma from which he will never wake. The only one who may be able to help them is Catharine, but going into a mind as disturbed as Carl's is extremely dangerous.
The performances aren't standout, but neither do they cause the characters to be lost among the bizarre locales and special effects. Jennifer Lopez is effective, although it's not close to her breakthrough role in "Selena." Vince Vaughn is less successful, but adequate. He's decent in the low-key dramatic scenes, but struggles with heavy emotions. Vincent D'Onofrio is very good in what is really a demanding role, although I still don't forgive him for annoying the hell out of me for playing the inexplicably popular character Det. Van Goren on "Law and Order: Criminal Intent." Dylan Baker and Marianne Jean-Baptiste provide solid support.
Tarsem Singh's most obvious trait is his visual style. From the bizarre settings and even more bizarre costumes, Singh's films are never uninteresting to look at. The costume design by the late Eiko Ishioka and April Napier is both strange and beautiful, and the production design by Tom Foden is creepy. Actually, that's part of the problem. The camera moves a little too quickly at times and with the purposefully obtrusive score by Howard Shore, it becomes a little overbearing. I'm sure that that is the effect that Singh wanted, but it becomes a little too much.
I always appreciate films like "The Cell." They try new things and never take the easy way out. Although the explanation for Carl's violence is cliche, it's at least presented effectively and without exploitation. This kind of risk taking should be encouraged. Who knows what kind of films we might get if filmmakers were allowed to push the boundaries?
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