Is there a place for the surrealist mystery?
If I had to come up with a list of the top ten movies of all time, "Fight Club" might not be at the top, but it would definitely make the list. The movie was powerful, not only for the storyline about the salvation of civilization through destruction (try saying that five times fast), but also because of a great mystery storyline twist. It was the same way in "The Sixth Sense" ( although that movie lacked the underlying philosophical message ). In both movies, there is a plot twist that is so integral to the characters, that it makes you want to watch the movie all over again just to see the movie in this new light. Just like in "Twelve Monkeys" you find out only at the end something that makes you realize that you've been artfully mislead all through the movie.

A rather artistic version of that movie was "Memento", where the movie plays the scenes in reverse order to give the viewer that surrealist feeling, while making them internally debate who to trust, and what different things mean.

I love that feeling, the one that makes you think while watching the film. It's a storyline technique that makes the viewer feel involved long before the twist comes up. Usually presaged by surrealist things happening to the main character, unexplained things that act as clues to explain what the whole REAL story is. They tried to do that with the movie "Identity" but by the time that movie was out, I had already caught on to the method, and I figured out the mystery way too early.

Now, I'm not talking about surrealist symbolism, like a Cronenberg film. That stuff is never explained, and the movies are stronger for it. I mean the things that seem impossible, irrational, and yet make perfect sense once the movie is over.

I only mention this because I watched a really great example of that kind of movie today. "The Machinist" with Christian Bael and Jennifer Jason Leigh (one of my all time favorite actresses), is a story about a man who has not been able to sleep for a year, and consequently suffers delusions. The obvious connection is that he has some buried secret, and through the delusions, you can figure out what the nature of the secret was.

Without giving anything away, I can say that this movie is like those others, a surrealist mystery. The viewer is drawn in to guess what's going on, and they drop clues throughout the movie to keep the viewer involved. But here's the thing: I couldn't really get into it. The acting was excellent (I think, in the future, all leading men will be compared to Christian Bael and Colin Farrell). The writing was terse, powerful, and intelligent. The direction and cinematography were excellent. But because it was a surrealist mystery, I already knew what to look for. I was seeing it as a puzzle instead of a movie.

It's like a "Where's Waldo" book. When you first open it, you see a picture with hundreds of people in it. All of them have a motivation, their own stories, points of interest. You can appreciate it for the artistry that goes into that kind of dynamic setting. But then you see the guy in the stupid hat, and you turn the page. After that, you don't notice any of the people in the pictures anymore. You forget about their stories, you don't care about their motivations. You just see them as colors getting in the way of the telltale red and white stripes of that camera-bug geek.

There's a certain sadness in knowing that you don't enjoy a movie for it's main purpose anymore. But at the same time, you can't shut it off. I can't watch "Fight Club" just for the acting, or the cinematography. When I turn it on, I watch for moments when people ask "Jack" what his name is, or when "Jack" and Tyler pass each other on the stairway.

So, when I watch "The Machinist" I'm watching it as a forensic pathologist, not a movie fan. And that worries me.

It seems to me that there are few alternatives:
1) I get over it. Just shut my brain off and watch the movie like it was some kind of Bruckheimer flick or something.
2) They get worse. If we have more movies like "Identity", where it's way too easy to figure out what's going on, maybe my brain will be reduced to tapioca. Then, when the next "Machinist" or "Fight Club" comes along, I will be all set to have my mind blown.
3) They get better. Maybe if we saw more Cronenberg stuff, or David Lynch movies, I would be able to get over the impression that movies can be figured out. And maybe, just maybe, they can make the solutions so far out there that I never see it coming. That way, I can engage my brain all I want, and I'll still be forced to enjoy the movie. I'd like that.

I'd like that a lot.

- posted by BrandG @ 12:28 AM