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)