|| Home Page | Welcome | Contents | Staff | Support Us ||

Arts&Culture/Reveiw


Gothika
by:Edwardo Jackson

MOVIE BIASES: Usually not my cup of tea, but Halle sure is.
MAJOR PLAYERS: Halle Berry (Monster’s Ball), Robert Downey Jr. (U.S. Marshals), Penelope Cruz (Vanilla Sky), and director Mathieu Kassovitz (actor, Amelie)

Hate is a strong word. So I won’t say that I “hate” scary movies, but I do think they are, by and large, pretty dumb. Usually, they don’t scare anybody and their plot holes are as wide as the Grand Canyon. These were my low expectations for Halle Berry’s scary movie/psycho-thriller “Gothika,” with my minimal hopes for entertainment resting on another potential Halle nudie scene (didn’t happen; sorry, guys). But something happened on the way to scary movie dismissal—this movie got good. No, it got GREAT.

Dr. Miranda Grey (Berry) is your average well-liked, well-known, and well-respected psychiatrist at a Connecticut mental institute run by her husband Doug (Charles S. Dutton). All that is flipped on its ear one dark, stormy night when Miranda’s encounter with a scarred, half-dressed blonde girl in the middle of the road causes her to blackout, waking up three days later in the very mental institute at which she used to practice. Charged with a murder but with almost no recollection of committing the crime, Miranda struggles to learn the truth of what happened to her that night, why she keeps seeing the same sad-faced blonde everywhere, and if she truly is crazy.

If you can suspend your disbelief, you will love Halle in “Gothika.” Sure, no doctor would ever be put at the same mental institute at which they practiced, but that’s beside the point. Halle fully commits to the role (to the point where she fractured her wrist on set), immersing herself in a heartwrenching performance that will reach you if you have ever been falsely accused of something. Penelope Cruz’s gloomily charismatic Chloe, a former patient of Grey’s and now, perhaps, Miranda’s only ally inside, highlights her struggle, accenting the futility of those deemed criminally insane (“The more you try to prove you’re not, the crazier you seem.”). It’s almost as if these two beautiful women got on the phone one day and decided to star in a movie together for the specific purpose of playing against their looks. Sorry, ladies, it didn’t work; even with a ton of drab makeup, they both are still bona fide REEL DEAL Crushes. Robert Downey Jr. pretty much mails in a second banana role not worthy of his considerable talents and it’s good to see “Roc” (Dutton) getting work again.

But the star of this movie is French director Mathieu Kassovitz. In his first English language studio film, Kassovitz assuredly steers a stylishly moody piece that captivates while it creeps (you out). Thanks to cinematographer Matthew Libatique (Abandon), Kassovitz has filmed the darkest movie since “Dark City,” where even daylight seems to be pouting. Lighting is a centerpiece of the movie as the institute’s electricity is always on the fritz, with lights flickering eerily and conveniently at times designed to ratchet up the suspense. Kassovitz also uses the flickering light to symbolize the flickering loyalties of those steeped in science and reason trying to reconcile matters of faith and the paranormal. The people around Miranda also dither with their faith in her, even to the point where her own dad doesn’t believe her.

But Kassovitz doesn’t stop there. Piling on dramatic whip pans and circling shots, freaky breathing sound effects, and an unsettling yet standard scary movie musical score, Kassovitz had me by my guts and my breath, holding both hostage and daring me to look away. With just the themes of the doctor being doctored and the invisibility of the insane (“You can’t trust someone who thinks you’re crazy.”), I wouldn’t dare. I may never watch this movie again (too freaky) but it forever redefined the potential of horror-thrillers for me. Now that’s scary.

@@@@ REELS
(FOUR REELS)
An urban legend/instant classic.

 

|| Home Page | Welcome | Contents | Staff | Support Us ||

Back to the top

 

editor@harlemlive.org