DO NOT READ IF YOU PLAN ON WATCHING CLOVERFIELD
Long post coming...I know it. Okay first off...I REALLY like Cloverfield. It was fun...it was different...was it unique? Well let us see if we can answer that.
First off let's talk about the plot. Now I've heard of this compared to a couple of movies. One was a War of Worlds without Tom Cruise while not an altogether unfair comparison it does miss a couple of key points. War of Worlds relies on the tried and true alien invasion formula...veni vidi vici. In Cloverfield we have NO idea of origin or motive. Food? Revenge? Maybe it just fears a general election with two New York representatives and is hoping to limit that possibility. Additionally the alien invasion tends to end as humanity decides to get off its ass and starts kicking some. This ends not looking so good for humanity or at least New York.
Okay so an American monster movie...Godzilla (original) perhaps? Big monster, tears up a city, military not much use...sounds the same. Let's look a little deeper. Godzilla and many of creatures from that era were born of fears. In the case of Godzilla the fear of the bombs and a nuclear earth. Godzilla personified the fear of a nation perhaps to in some ways humanize it...allow it to be pushed back or defeated or just to describe it. So what are we afraid of now...is this some personification of the fear of terrorisim. Maybe...after all it's placed in New York. Lady Liberty, a great symbol of our country, is beheaded. Skyscrapers are toppled and crumble to the ground in a very symbolic way. Granted though, destruction of national monuments and big buildings is going to be a given in this kind of movie whether symbolic or not...if only purely for the psychological reflex of the watcher. Additionally the monster itself has no connection to terrorism its actions only resemble the aftermath of extreme terrorism. It is not birthed of terrorism. The only thing that would suggest a connection beyond what occurs in any disaster/monster movie is the decapitation of Lady Liberty. While that is a powerful symbol I would hesitate to hang an entire theme on it.
Note: After writing this and then reading imdb it looks like I'm not the first one to go this way...though I don't think it's quite as blunt as others seem to feel.Okay so maybe this is a new class of film or maybe this is a classic monster movie. That's not the only thing that can make a movie unique. Cinematography and unique editing can make a story feel new. While not exactly the best movie in the world Hulk provided a very unique feel in it's transitions between shots and scenes with its comic book layout. As for this...well the handicam approach has been done before. Blair Witch...a most annoying comparison, but the use of the camera as a intrinsic device in the movie is a way of enforcing a realism to the movie...but unlike Blair Witch this effect (for me anyways) was moved along well by employing standard Hollywood timing and sub-plots as opposed to 90 minutes of screaming and running in Blair Witch. But this film uses the camera in a way I've not seen it done before (maybe somebody has an example). This movie uses the camera to juxtapose the best day of the main protagonist's life and the worst day of his life. The film is started with the protagonist proclaiming that it's going to be a good day...and also ends on that statement made by another character. That tape which holds the record of the Rob's happiest moment only to be erased and hold his new nightmare and alluded demise.
Russian Ark...a 90 minute single shot (though not single take) film uses a handicam approach though for a completely different feel and effect. It creates a single unified line through time and space in a way similar to Hitchcocks use of very long shots sometimes using entire reels of film. Here the use of the tape provides a shifting, jerking timeline to the entire film. This does two things, one flashbacks hide in the tape not because they smoothly transition with real-time but because even the main timeline is jagged and rough. Two it creates an effect of suspense in and of itself. If a shift occurs, what are you going to be watching next; calm flash back, suspenseful if subdued establishing shot, or frantic action shot? You're cued by camera behavior that a change is coming...but rarely have any idea what. Ohhh and by the way doing away with the standard movie boilerplate to get right into the fun was pure genius. I have to say this is a very bold and unique usage of a technique that was derided in 99 with Blair Witch but pulled off to much greater effect.
The ending...well I've probably heard more complaints about the ending than any other part of the movie. To be honest I liked it ALOT...I've gotten tired of movies wrapping up everything in a nice little bow at the end of 2 hours. Aeon Flux can take this particular award and shove it where the sun don't shine. I loved that last night as I was going to sleep I was coming up with a million different twists and turns to the endings. You don't often get to use your imagination much with films but this left so much unsaid it feels more like a book with you filling in all the little details that aren't mentioned. There wasn't just a little teaser at the end (think Godzilla with the egg). So okay you've got a ton of open questions...that SCREAMS sequel. What do you do...another attack? Perhaps a different view of the same attack maybe through a news camera or another individual? Soldier head cam view (a la a bit like the head cams in Aliens). Continue to follow Lily after she gets off the chopper? Even the possibilities open new artistic ideas. Hell you could even take a view from the monster itself, maybe it got a news camera stuck in its teeth.
Okay so in conclusion I feel that even if the individual techniques or plot devices are not unique in and of themselves the way they are used and the degree and point of view from which the story is told is creates a riveting, unique film with was well worth my 8 bucks.
Let me know what you think.
