Drama, Synopsis: Quite a bit has been made of the fact that this film is like Seven because it was written by the same writer. Well forget it because film does not have the same head games, feel or power ofSeven. Ever since Batman Forever Joel Schumacher's directorial abilities dropped to the basemant but now with this dark and disturbing thriller he has come back to form, with this almost masterpiece. Sorry to say, as much as I enjoyed 8mm I do not feel it is anything but a well crafted story. Cage emotes well but he isn't as convincing as he could have been. I do not blame him as much as I blame the director. Okay let's give a little background first. We open the movie to find Cage, private investigator, Tom Welles, who is trying to make those all important connections witht the important people, so he can make the money to take care of his wife (Catherine Keener) and his baby daughter's future. This connection finally leads him to an important client, an old woman, who asks him to watch and then investigate the origins of a supposed 8 mm "snuff" film and whether or not the young girl in the film was indeed killed. Sidebar here...a snuff film is considered a film where actors or others are actually tortured and finally killed to satisfy some sickos perverted tastes. Considering the cost of these films and the fact that they are not mass produced usually leads to the urban legend that they are usually the domain of the rich and powerful. The film here shows us how he slowly and meticulously searchs and finds hidden clues in the film and through other sources. These scenes are really interesting to watchto see how everything comes togther. Unfortunately he is quickly forced on a trip down into the deepest pits of human perversions. This film tries to make all these perversions seem like they are all in the seedy domains of the underword. It would have been nice if the film also showed that people that enjoy sado-masochistic pleasures are not all ugly, seedy looking scum but are also part of the beautiful people lifestyle. Okay I'll get off the soap box now. As the story unveils before our eyes we see how this affects Tom Welles. He begins learning things about himself and man in general, things that nobody should know about. We are forced to follow with him into this depraved world where he meets the streetwise Max (Joaquin Phoenix); over-the-top Peter Stormare as the artistic director of the underworld and "Machine" (the guy with the leather mask) and the man with the answers. Unfortunately, you will not hear the answers you might have expected. Answers we really do not want to hear about ourselves. Some of the plot is predictable but be prepared for some really nasty twists, gross sexual details, things that show you that this is not a nice decent Hollywood movie with a happy feel good ending. The ending is excellent and it may not be expected. The film kept me riveted to the screen and left me fulfilled at the end. Go see it, it is worth the money. Cast and Credits: Starring: Nicolas Cage Joaquin Phoenix James Gandolfini Peter Stormare Christopher Bauer Directed by Produced by Written by Distributed by Columbia Pictures. Restricted: for strong perverse sexuality and violence, and for strong language. 124 mins. Read Still Another Review Of This Film Read Another Review Of This Film |
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