The Cell

	Review by Howard Anderson © 2000 Howard Anderson

Story

Meet Carl Stargher.

Within the confines of an abandoned rural farmhouse, Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio), a psychologically disturbed killer has built The Cell, a glass-encased chamber where he drowns his innocent female victims before continuing a sadistic post-mortem ritual with their bodies.

As the FBI finally closes in on the killer, he is rendered comatose by a violent seizure and is ultimately apprehended into their custody, but not before leaving his latest victim alive in The Cell with only forty hours to live. Unfortunately, only Stargher knows where she is...

Enter Catherine Deane.

Deane (Jennifer Lopez), a child therapist, is part of an advanced
neurological study at the Campbell Center, a research division of a large pharmaceutical company, where she's been using her empathetic abilities along with breakthrough technology to enter into the mind of a catatonic young boy to help bring him back to his loving parents.

While FBI agents Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn) and his partner Gordon Ramsey (Jake Weber) follow clues to uncover the missing girl's whereabouts, the FBI enlist Catherine to use her "gift" to embark on an uncharted and perilous journey through Stargher's demented mind.

Review

"The Cell" is a film that quite a large number reviewers have spoken passionately about, in both positive and negative ways. Some people loved it for its depth, daring and originality, while others thought it was a gratuitous and empty experience from start to finish. Personally I thought "The Cell" was nothing short of brilliant, but I can still understand how some people may not have been able to fully take in the almost disturbingly visceral content, or to correctly interpret the rich psychological canvas that was served up by director Tarsem Singh. I will, however, say that even for me this film needed some time to properly sink in, as its haunting and strange imagery cascaded around in my mind for quite a while after the end credits were done. It's a film unlike any that I've seen before, and that endeavor alone is a commendable and rare thing nowadays.

Based on a screenplay by Mark Protosevich, "The Cell" tells a multilayered and well-crafted story, populated by fully fleshed out characters that are all skillfully portrayed by a nicely put together cast. Vincent D'Onofrio is without a doubt the one that steels most of the show as serial killer Carl Stargher, giving us not only a sense of the monster, but also the internal conflict that rages within him. Jennifer Lopez delivers a very good performance, as well, as child therapist, Catherine Deane. But perhaps most surprising is the fact that Tarsem Singh didn't let Vince Vaughn's character, FBI agent Peter Novak, simply go to waist in a role that could have easily ended up being rather unappealing and flat. Instead Novak too, became a character that I sympathized with, and all though Vince Vaughn is far from the first name that pops into my mind when I think embittered FBI agent, he still managed to thoroughly suspend my disbelief for the duration of the film.

There have been claims made that the story is far from the most original work that's ever been put to paper and later captured on celluloid, and while there may be some truth in that, it is still the overall accomplishment that matters, and how those elements have all been put together in the context of the movie. After all, even "The Matrix" borrowed heavily from several sources, including the works of sci-fi writers William Gibson and Philip K. Dick, so when you see echoes of films like "The Silence of the Lambs" and even "Brainstorm" in "The Cell", then that doesn't automatically constitute a bad thing. I thought parts of this film even had a kind of "Alice in Wonderland" feel to it, and I loved that outrageousness. "The Cell" is definitely not a film for everyone, but for me this represents a nightmarish journey to the other side of the looking glass that I would gladly take again and again.

Image

Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, the image on this New Line Cinema DVD is just breathtaking in every sense of the word. From the bright blues and warm reds of the opening desert vistas, to the dark and gloomy shadow realms of Stargher's mind, the image holds up exceedingly well, never smearing or showing any hints of even the slightest of flaws. Tarsem Singh also utilized the process of skip-bleaching during several sequences, and here you can especially notice and appreciate the striking quality and work that has been put into this disc.

Sound

The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is every bit as atmospheric and effective as the visuals, instantly grabbing a hold of you from the very beginning with a spectacular score composed by Howard Shore. The 5.1 mix comes at you from all sides: the front speakers, the surrounds, and the LFE channel, in a constantly active environment of sound, where the directionality of the effects is enough to make you head spin. All though this mix is certainly a powerful one, it was actually the subtleties that I found to be the most impressive and effective, like for example the ticking of clocks, whispers, or the cry of a bird. Throughout this wonderfully mixed together cacophony of sounds, the dialogue remained crystal clear at all times and was never drowned out by any of the effects. The disc also comes with a separate 2.0 Surround track.

Features

"The Cell" is released as part of New Line Cinema's Platinum Series, and all though it is not as rich in the extra features department as many of their other releases under that banner, what is here is still some of the finest features that the DVD format has to offer. There are 2 Audio Commentary tracks, and the first track with director Tarsem Singh is great, being both an enjoyable and informative listen. Just the way a fun commentary track should be. The second track is much more technical, consisting of various members of the production team, including director of photography Paul Laufer, production designer Tom Foden, make-up artist Michelle Burke, costume designer April Napier, special effects supervisor Kevin Haug and composer Howard Shore. There is also an Isolated Music Score, presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Another great addition to the DVD are the Visual Effects Vignettes, where you can utilise your Alternate Angle feature to view the making of 6 major special effect sequences. You can even view them in a picture-in-picture setting. The "Style As Substance" Documentary is a cool look at director Tarsem, featuring people that he's collaborated with in both the past and on this film. There are 6 Deleted and 2 Extended Scenes included, that you can choose to watch with or without the director's commentary. The Interactive Brain Map and Empathy Test are two features I remember checking out on the film's official website, and it's really fun to see them re-produced here, on the DVD. The Theatrical Trailer and International Teaser Trailer are also to be found here, as well as the usual Cast & Crew Filmographies. There is also a selection of DVD-ROM features incuded on the disc.

Overall Opinion

Here's a quote by Roger Ebert that I feel I've got to include: "The new studio guidelines prefer PG-13 cuts from directors, so now we get movies like "Coyote Ugly" that start out with no brains and now don't have any sex, either. Into this wilderness comes a movie like "The Cell," which is challenging, wildly ambitious and technically superb, and I dunno: I guess it just overloads the circuits for some people." That really nails it, I think, as I am in total agreement with those words. And I wanted to include that because it makes me think about a couple of other films that are now considered classics, films that were at fist dismissed by some critics in a rather harsh way, films like Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", and Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner." I know I might be biting over a lot with that statement, but what the hell. If you feel ready for a truly unique movie experience, then "The Cell" is a safe bet. The DVD certainly won't let you down.