Splice
3/4
Starring: Sarah Polley, Adrien Brody, Delphine Chaneac, Simona Maicanescu, David Hewlitt, Abigail Chu
Rated R for Disturbing Elements including Strong Sexuality, Nudity, Sci-Fi Violence and Language
Typically speaking, it's a filmmaker's second feature that stinks (hence the term "sophomore slump"). Due to studio interference, a lacking script, or just plain inability to make lightning strike twice, many careers have taken a hit (and a few have been snuffed out...at least in the mainstream) after the second, better funded film turns out to be less than stellar. With Vincenzo Natali, the opposite is true. His "breakthrough" first feature, "Cube," was a abomination of a motion picture. "Splice" is actually a good film. Not flawless, but it at least follows through with what it promises.
Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley) are two scientists who live for pushing scientific boundaries. They genetically mix different creatures' DNA to create new species to harvest genes for new medicines and treatments of diseases. Both of them (especially Elsa) are overzealous; neither one of them really pauses to consider the implications of their actions. When an executive (Maicanescu) says that they're shutting down the lab to concentrate on creating medication from the data they got, both of them are outraged. They want to introduce human DNA into the mix. When they don't get the go ahead, Elsa convinces Clive to do it anyway. Their creation, which calls itself "Dren," is a fast growing being with both human and animal characteristics. At first, Clive and Elsa find her fascinating, but things turn dangerous when Dren (Chu as a child, Chaneac as an adult) becomes hard to control.
Oddly enough, "Splice" resembles Paul Verhoeven's should-have-been-a-whole-lot-better sci-fi thriller "Hollow Man." Both are films about scientists who break the rules in their insatiable desire to push boundaries and end up regretting it. But whereas "Hollow Man's" interest in exploring the implications of being invisible was limited to the lead scientist chasing his female co-workers and feeding his need to dominate, "Splice" is more ambitious. It asks a lot of questions about morality and ethics. For example, how does one interact with something that is only part human? Elsa is paternal towards Dren, while Clive is cool and detached. Or what about when Clive realizes whose DNA was used to create Dren? Or in the film's creepiest turn, what do they do when Dren becomes aware of her sexuality?
Of all the people who could possibly be in this type of movie, Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley are probably the last you'd think of. Brody is the actor who is so strange looking and acting that when you hear that he is cast in a certain type of role (an action hero in "King Kong" and "Predators"), you'd think it laughable until you see the movie and realize that they were right on the money. Brody is usually effective, but there are times when he's a little too low-key (like in the action scenes). Sarah Polley, a Canadian actress who is beloved by director Atom Egoyan, is far from mainstream (although she did appear in "Go" and the "Dawn of the Dead" remake). She's quite good; Elsa is talented but feels invincible to the consequences. Also worth noting is Delphine Chaneac. Chaneac doesn't have any dialogue (she uses Scrabble letters to form words, although not much), so the actress must use body language, and especially her face, to communicate how Dren feels. Chaneac is excellent at this, using her eyes to communicate.
The film trips up in the final act. It's not what happens (considering the genre and the fact that it's a major studio film, it's pretty much inevitable), but how it's handled. The climax isn't set up especially well (weak writing is to blame), and the two leads suffer extreme brain cramps, breaking the most obvious (and most commonly broken) rule of horror movies). Also, considering how frank the film was up until that point, it's a little tame (although the final scene is not).
I saw "Splice" long before I saw "Cube," so I wasn't expecting another cinematic disaster (I experienced the opposite when walking into "Moonrise Kingdom"). Still, "Splice" does a lot of things right. Maybe this was an instance where studio interference helped the film (Guillermo del Toro and mega-producer Joel Silver are listed as executive producers). It really doesn't matter how it happened since the end result would be just as satisfying.
Starring: Sarah Polley, Adrien Brody, Delphine Chaneac, Simona Maicanescu, David Hewlitt, Abigail Chu
Rated R for Disturbing Elements including Strong Sexuality, Nudity, Sci-Fi Violence and Language
Typically speaking, it's a filmmaker's second feature that stinks (hence the term "sophomore slump"). Due to studio interference, a lacking script, or just plain inability to make lightning strike twice, many careers have taken a hit (and a few have been snuffed out...at least in the mainstream) after the second, better funded film turns out to be less than stellar. With Vincenzo Natali, the opposite is true. His "breakthrough" first feature, "Cube," was a abomination of a motion picture. "Splice" is actually a good film. Not flawless, but it at least follows through with what it promises.
Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley) are two scientists who live for pushing scientific boundaries. They genetically mix different creatures' DNA to create new species to harvest genes for new medicines and treatments of diseases. Both of them (especially Elsa) are overzealous; neither one of them really pauses to consider the implications of their actions. When an executive (Maicanescu) says that they're shutting down the lab to concentrate on creating medication from the data they got, both of them are outraged. They want to introduce human DNA into the mix. When they don't get the go ahead, Elsa convinces Clive to do it anyway. Their creation, which calls itself "Dren," is a fast growing being with both human and animal characteristics. At first, Clive and Elsa find her fascinating, but things turn dangerous when Dren (Chu as a child, Chaneac as an adult) becomes hard to control.
Oddly enough, "Splice" resembles Paul Verhoeven's should-have-been-a-whole-lot-better sci-fi thriller "Hollow Man." Both are films about scientists who break the rules in their insatiable desire to push boundaries and end up regretting it. But whereas "Hollow Man's" interest in exploring the implications of being invisible was limited to the lead scientist chasing his female co-workers and feeding his need to dominate, "Splice" is more ambitious. It asks a lot of questions about morality and ethics. For example, how does one interact with something that is only part human? Elsa is paternal towards Dren, while Clive is cool and detached. Or what about when Clive realizes whose DNA was used to create Dren? Or in the film's creepiest turn, what do they do when Dren becomes aware of her sexuality?
Of all the people who could possibly be in this type of movie, Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley are probably the last you'd think of. Brody is the actor who is so strange looking and acting that when you hear that he is cast in a certain type of role (an action hero in "King Kong" and "Predators"), you'd think it laughable until you see the movie and realize that they were right on the money. Brody is usually effective, but there are times when he's a little too low-key (like in the action scenes). Sarah Polley, a Canadian actress who is beloved by director Atom Egoyan, is far from mainstream (although she did appear in "Go" and the "Dawn of the Dead" remake). She's quite good; Elsa is talented but feels invincible to the consequences. Also worth noting is Delphine Chaneac. Chaneac doesn't have any dialogue (she uses Scrabble letters to form words, although not much), so the actress must use body language, and especially her face, to communicate how Dren feels. Chaneac is excellent at this, using her eyes to communicate.
The film trips up in the final act. It's not what happens (considering the genre and the fact that it's a major studio film, it's pretty much inevitable), but how it's handled. The climax isn't set up especially well (weak writing is to blame), and the two leads suffer extreme brain cramps, breaking the most obvious (and most commonly broken) rule of horror movies). Also, considering how frank the film was up until that point, it's a little tame (although the final scene is not).
I saw "Splice" long before I saw "Cube," so I wasn't expecting another cinematic disaster (I experienced the opposite when walking into "Moonrise Kingdom"). Still, "Splice" does a lot of things right. Maybe this was an instance where studio interference helped the film (Guillermo del Toro and mega-producer Joel Silver are listed as executive producers). It really doesn't matter how it happened since the end result would be just as satisfying.
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