Cloverfield and the "Real"

Where to Start

The movie does an exceptional job delivering the story from an authentic source – a handheld video. The initially unwilling Hud grows to love the camera and it allows him to get closer to his crush, Marlena. When he first films the monster on celluloid, a part of us understands the excitement of trying capture something "real" -- like proof of a miracle. It is something that cuts through the superficiality of life. We are at first only given jerky glimpses of the monstrosity, much like the distorted naked body parts in some pornography. We are rewarded with the “real” in the final minutes. The up-close in-your-face shot of the monster gives us the intense detail we craved, a full body shot of the beast, and even an indication of some intelligence.

Cloverfield wants to give you the real. What do I mean by Real? Think of pornography. There is Playboy and then there are extreme sex magazines far south of Hustler. The primordial excitement that a nude picture evokes is “real.” However, we must compare it to the unreal for it to make sense. Bo Derek’s nude body in Playboy was somewhere between risqué and naughty, but hardcore porn (at some point) is appalling to our morality -- with a few unfortunate exceptions. There is a point where seeing a photograph or video of a sexual organ from the most unimaginable angles and magnification reaches a point of being... unreal. Our senses are turned upside down and the thrill turns to disgust. The essence of a sense-arousing nude body disappears into the separate universe of a sexual body part. The "real" is lost.

So what does this have to do with a monster in Manhattan? Cloverfield wants to give you the "real." The "real" is also like an "a-ha" or "eureka" moment, like when a sublime sunrise punctures your very being. The moment overwhelms your senses and stays until a thought like "what a beautiful sunrise" emerges. Then poof, the words have killed the enlightened moment. The "real" is like seeing something with new and fresh eyes… or a monster in Manhattan.

The “Real” and the Monster

We feel every bit of excitement with each increasingly clearer shot of the monster. Photographing the “real” for Hud seems to be in close competition with his survival instinct. Is this portrayal of these dueling interests valid or moviemaking fantasy? Certainly there were pictures of the horror on 911 from New Yorkers with cameras and phones, but they usually didn't come from people running back into the danger. Remember, Hud is going back with his three companions into the new home of the monster, baby monsters are chasing them in a dark subway, and he somehow retains a fairly coherent commentary.

Everyday life can seem unreal. Like the hollow greetings of “how are you doing,” which usually are a chore and not a real instrument for connection. Maybe movies are desperately trying to convey two forces, either the “real” or a contortion of the “real” in a grotesque, unreal, but new form. But can the movies ever succeed at this? Like many sci-fi movies (and especially ones in Manhattan – ie. I Am Legend), the story is about 911. Even when the planes hit the WTC buildings, we wanted to watch it again and again. But what did most people say? ‘It was like watching a movie.’ If that wasn’t the “real,” what is?

Rob and the “Real”

Overall, the human drama becomes loses its sense of authenticity as the movie progresses, especially the incongruent humor and Hud’s loquaciousness. The monster is not the only "real" thing in the movie though. After watching their best friends and thousands of civilians die, the mind-numbing experience breaks from the spectator quality to give you something else "real." What works really well is the moment when death becomes intensely personal. I am referring to when Rob is hit with the full scale of his brother Jason's death - the numbness is on target. Rob telling his mother about Jason’s death plays with the “real” very successfully.

Rob and the “real” also tango when we are forced to consider whether we would take the risks Rob does to be with Beth. This irrational act works because of the character development, and the revelation by his now dead brother that he hadn’t lived in the moment. The idea that it takes a winged monster, who bowls Liberty’s head down a Manhattan street, is analogous to how much it takes for people to wake up to what’s “real” right under their noses. We all see it through camera lens in his body movement, words, and actions, as do most of the partygoers.

Their narrow escapes from death brought them together, but perhaps it also makes them feel slightly immune to the danger – with the video acting subconsciously as their key to immortality. I found myself convinced that I might do the same things as Rob. I was not however convinced of the other three following along on the life-threatening venture. Yet, the act is not entirely implausible. We all remember the firefighters on 911 entering the doomed buildings in a totally selfless way. But between the spawning of baby monsters and the seemingly omnipresent big mama omnivore’s great speed and agility, forget it! In the heat of the moment, firefighters amazingly went into the second tower with little odds of survival, but bringing friends along is a totally different animal.

Any thoughts?

(Part 1 of 3)

I Am Legend and the Post 911 Pysche (Part 2 of 2)

Let's continue the I Am Legend insightful review...

11. I loved how the hell hounds had to wait for the exact moment when the line of sunlight subsided. That’s one of those moments that is simultaneously symbolic and aesthetically riveting. There is a lot of symbolic crossing of lines - morally, ethically, and scientifically for example. It brings new meaning to ‘doing the right thing when no one else is around.’

12. Neville is judge and jury when it comes to deciding whether beings are human or inhuman. Strangely, he is trying to save the mutants and even lives to see one of the return to human form - physically through appearance and at least partially on the inside. The symbolism might be that the most evil person can be ‘cured’ of anything. But as we see, the mutant ideology or vision, is stronger. They want to feed on Neville and they can’t see the light that he sees so clearly. Religion can seem that way sometimes.

13. When people who stand by some principle, be it biblical or otherwise, they have to draw a line. We decide when to love thy neighbor. And usually, he must first become “other,” stamped “evil,” then comes an eye for an eye. The line is made easier in this movie, but in life it can be clouded or very subtle.

14. When Neville first enters the mutants’ lair, the pod of ex-humans seem uninterested in attacking him. Only when one of them is caught in a human trap do they become bloodthirsty and risk their lives to attack his home. If the mutants symbolized terrorists, leaving them alone, instead of ’spreading’ the cure that was incompatable with their reality, might have been the best thing. Fortifying his turf might be a good option. -

15. After many mutants die in the attack on Neville’s home, they keep coming. Not unlike the behavior of terrorists. Unfortunately though, like with the terrorists, we are not offered any substantial insight into why they attack. Osama Bin Laden’s positions are deeply rooted in philosophy and political ideology – it’s more complicated than just religion and interpreting the koran.

16. His faith in medicine, virology as it were instead of religion, was his radicalism. He did things in the name of good while the other side had no such ethical stance. They couldn’t be reasoned with. The terrorists of today also invoke faith. If they are teaching hate I shouldn’t the “good” side be teaching peace - isn’t that the lesson of Bob Marley? This line of thought brings up a big question: Can you hold nonviolence in your mind, practice it, while trying to protect your country?

17. His his belief in spreading a cure is not unlike the U.S. spreading democracy. Right now, it seems only civil war is spreading and local not universal government control is the only viable outcome. Is it OK that it was in the name of good? Think about Neville’s determination to his cause and non-questioning unconscious obedience to the to science (a lifelong ideology that permeates his every move, and usually without conscious awareness). More to the point, he has a bunch of failed antidotes and yet decides to still stay the course. Interestingly, one of the antidotes eventually works, but is unwanted. Neville tries to overpower the mutants’ will justifying his actions in an ex post facto way. Yes, I am speaking in code about invading Iraq on the grounds they had WMD and an Al Qaeda infestation.

18. On radicalism. The mutants’ motives stay simple, unfortunately. Just as Al Qaeda’s motives do. Both are limited to a simple narrative about a violent text. Hence the bumper sticker logic of “these colors don’t run” or “support the troops bring them home.” But appropriately, that is not explored, since we aren’t interested in motive, only good versus evil andthey are blood-thirsty mutants after all.

19. Legend – so let’s start wrapping up with the show-stopper. Neville gives Anna a beautiful lecture on Bob Marley. A great analogy between music and virology (See part 1 for link) Now, here’s maybe the stickiest part. We get a sense that maybe science isn’t his religion after all, but rather that you can spread love automatically. Bob used his lungs, Neville uses a syringe. He named his daughter after him, Bob is his God. So now we ask, can something like say a bible or a nonviolent rhetoric or the Prince of Peace or even Buddha be spun into “evil” behavior, like that of the mutants.

20. I must not forget Neville blowing himself up. There he was yelling at the “other,” the mutant-terrorists: ‘I have a cure!’ Blinded by their mutantism just they way he was by science, whether fervor or ideology, there was no way for the two sides to meet. Screaming louder only gets the lead bad-ass mutant to smash his head harder into the glass barrier (symbolism, hmm). Sharing the wonders of science (or democracy) makes things worse, which is why we don’t talk about spreading democracy anymore. Hope can’t conquer all. If that is true of the war in Iraq, then how many will have to die to win.

The movie does lead to some wide-eyed action verging on horror show, but the slow pace does more than just build up anticipation. It puts you in the mind of smith. Sci fi is often ships and more stimulus but you get to walk in smith’s shoes through the deserted hellhole long enough to feel the primordial spasms he does. The last movie I saw that asked for so much patience was the vampire movie After Dawn with george Clooney and Harvey Keitel. The slow pace, including a traffic jam in a camper, leads up to all out vampire pandemonioum in a hell on earth setting. This movie had a lot more stickiness and is worth the slow build up.

Let me here from you.

I Am Legend and the Post 911 Pysche (Part 1 of 2)

Where to Begin

After a virus wipes out NY City, US Army Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville (Will Smith) finds himself the last man on the streets of Manhattan. Look out SARS here comes KV. What’s left of NY City (and possibly the world) is Neville, his dog Sam, and some sunlight-hating mutants.The movie spends a good deal of time taking you along with Neville and his dog as they search abandoned homes for supplies. Except for some overgrown vegetation, deserted vehicles, and dead bodies, it lulls you into thinking things are pretty safe and calm. Then, Neville’s dog chases a deer into the dark recesses of hellish structure.

Anticipation of something really big begins to loom. It was like awaiting that first hair-raising shot of jaws on the screen. But it never happened. Once you get used to the eerie post-apocalyptic Manhattan, the somewhat average looking mutants score low in terms of fright factor and special effects. I felt disappointed… until an unexpected and compelling interaction between Neville the scientist and the mutants emerged.

Even as the human world dims, our need for routine only strengthens. Neville obviously remains very serious about exercise and likes to regularly ‘borrow’ DVD’s from a store. The media store is where Neville regularly strikes up conversations with mannequins. It’s not very eerie or clever and I felt like I should have been really lost in a feeling of despair or the strength of the last man on Earth - the title is called I Am Legend after all. Instead, the mannequin exchanges only reminded me that this is Will Smith acting.

But all these downsides were overcome by the movie’s strong undercurrents. For the sake of brevity, I have bulleted some of the major themes that really stuck with me. Keep them in mind when you share your comments.

1. I felt like Neville brought me a long way toward an understanding of what makes a ground zero worker (or anyone for that matter) make the ultimate sacrifice.

2. The diatribe about Bob Marley was oh so powerful. Although the acting by Smith felt a little mechanical, it was still a brilliant scene. A moment of clarity amidst chaos. Rarely does such one-sided rant work so wholly to reframe a character and a story. See it now at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTLXh_K5tZc.

3. Out of nowhwere the iron-willed character who suddenly seems like his spiritual and life work as a scientist may be heavily knotted in the lyrics of Bob Marley.

4. The title I Am Legend subconsciously leads you to believe Neville will triumph over the mutants - a Braveheart of a horrible future. Instead, you are left with Neville sacrificing himself for two survivors Anna (Alice Braga) and a boy named Ethan (Charlie Tahan). The hint of ‘legend’ associated with Neville is nicely jumbled when the woman says you are “the Dr. Neville” - he looks perplexed or uninterested.

5. Usually we are in awe of any form of ultimate sacrifice or bravery. But after the death of his family, Sam included of course, it’s surprisingly easy to imagine yourself making the same sacrifice.

6. It makes you think of how we deal with the reality of death. When we have hope it seems to be a barrier to our mortality. However, without hope, is there some kind of death drive that automatically surfaces? Some of the heroism of his sacrifice seems tied in with his hopelessness.

7. Some of the simplistic encounters with the mutants prove profound as the film gathers momentum. Who is the bad guy? Neville, who wants to find a cure, not realizing the hopelessness of it – tortures animals and people in the name of science. At first it might seem noble to some (not me – as we hear Neville admit, ‘humans made this mess’ – so why should animals have to pay).

8. The argument goes that we all would test on animals to save our child or ourselves. For the betterment of mankind the argument goes. But, remember, the virus that wipes out 90% of humans and animals comes from a “cure” for cancer. The point also transcends the movie – think of beautiful ocean birds soaked in oil spills, animal experiments, that pacing tiger at the zoo, whales in kept captive in pools, etc.).

9. Here’s another subtle message on the good versus bad theme. Neville found the pod of surviving mutants after chasing his dog Sam. In his words, ‘they no longer showed any signs of being human’ (like Bin Laden maybe). So, he found it easier to set a horrific boobie-trap… in the name of science. Then, he straps that ex-human onto a gurney.

10. I don’t know about you, but I get a little queasy when our heroes use their power and self-righteousness over the innocent, even if they are mutant-ugly. Neville is slowly turning into an anti-hero for me. Then again, maybe its just my revulsion to how ill treatment of the helpless gets glossed over. Then again, I’m on the extreme side because I see “time outs” for children as a euphemism for “solitary confinement.” (Emotional distress is far more damaging than temporary controlling behavior, for me).

11. Along that line, the mutant leader gets mad and even with Neville. And I was sympathetic to him. In fact, by the end of the movie, as the stickiness set in, I realized that intentionally or not, the “evil” mutant leader was a victim and had every right to go after Neville. And for an ex-human, the mutant leader certainly understood Neville’s little mind when he set up his trap.

(End of Part 1)