Red Lights (2012) - Review

Rodrigo Cortes, director of Buried, delivers a brave psychological thriller that hits some great targets but misses a whole lot more

Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) and Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) are paranormal investigators and university professors who spend their spare time disproving paranormal phenomenons, psychics and mediums. While we are initially presented with these characters, we are also presented with Simon Silver (Robert De Niro), a legendary medium who is making his first professional appearance in thirty years, having retired shortly after the allegedly natural and sudden death by heart attack of one of his most ardent detractors.

Not surprisingly, the film follows the events depicting what happens when the sceptics and the psychics clash. While the first quarter of the film introduces us to the methods by which fraudulent psychics use to trick people, the rest of the film provides us with the escalating tension that a thriller should. Albeit Cortes having only released one major film (2010s Buried), his directorial skills are exceedingly impressive, especially with regards to his genre of choice. His attention to detail makes the increasingly suspect events of Red Lights all the more unnerving, as predictably unexplainable phenomenon begin to occur during the pursuit of Silver, such as birds committing suicide by window and electrical appliances unexpectedly blowing up.

This is all fine and well for a little while, but as the second act begins and the frequency of unexplainable events increases dramatically, everything starts to seem strangely unrelated. There are sections of the film, that make absolutely no sense, even when considering the films themes and topics of choice. The ending is intended to provide an explanation to these events, and while I won't spoil it, I will mention that it has sharply polarised many people. The message it puts across seems extraordinarily unrelated to the rest of the film, and it finishes with an uncomfortable absence of closure, even though there may be appear to be some on the surface

For the most part the performances are all of a high quality. Cillian Murphy's portrayal of the seemingly cynical physicist does falter at times, although this can be marked down to an occasionally weak script. However, this is similarly saved by Sigourney Weaver's performance as the equally cynical scientific debunker, as well as Robert De Niro's effortless depiction of the visually impaired Simon Silver. The cast is awash with talent and they do an excellent job of upholding the films often choppy rhythm.

Red Lights reminded to no end of David Fincher's Se7en, in that it's set in this bleak and gloomy city where the rain never stops falling.  Strangely enough, Red Lights could also be compared to Ghostbusters in it's portrayal of parapsychology; in the comedy world, the investigators lose their funding, but in the apparently serious world of Red Lights, they have no shortage of it. The ending works in context of this, because Red Lights isn't set in the real world. It's meant to be taken as seriously as Ghostbusters is, and that's the only thing the two have in common. Well, that and Sigourney Weaver.

3/5

Chasing Amy (1996) - Review

This is the not-so-classic love story. It's that kind that could only exist as of a couple of decades ago at the most.

Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck) and Banky Edwards (Jason Lee) are comic book artists and best friends. Through a friend, the two meet Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams) a fellow comic book artist whom Holden becomes immediately smitten with. But this is where the guy-meets-girl love story falls to pieces. Guy meets girl. Guy falls in love with girl. Guy is shocked to find out that said girl is a lesbian. Or, to extinguish categories, a woman who is attracted specifically to women.

All of the classic staples of a Kevin Smith film are present, particularly the impressively long-held shots that really showcase the actors abilities, as well as the witty and always hilarious banter between said characters. The quality of the dialogue, of course, is only a positive force in the films overall scope. Using the term 'exploration' with relation to themes is always a tricky business because it can often mean going into minute detail about the dullest of things in order to try and squeeze something barely profound out, but Chasing Amy doesn't fall into this trap. Rather than being dull, Smith looks at specific aspects of a relationship when emotional tolerance is drawn thin and when people really do have a tendency to shout. Often times I found myself watching a scene, specifically one containing a conversation between two or more characters, eventually to realise on more than one occasion how long this films scenes go on for, although it isn't necessarily a crux, but rather an upside. It reminded me to no end of just about every film in Tarantino's filmography; Smith goes for drawn-out and precise quality rather than throwing a series of allegedly hilarious conflicts in the way of the characters as so many rom-coms have a tendency to do.

Supporting the story and dialogue, the chosen actors really do shine in their roles. Affleck's portrayal of the lovable but conflicted comic book artist Holden is spectacularly complimented - as well as contrasted - by Jason Lee's portrayal of colourist Banky, who has no shortage of judgemental opinions and explicit jokes. With Banky in mind, the film is not just an examination of a romantic relationship between a man and a woman; it also examines the toll that such a relationship can take on a friendship, as Banky has an infinite number of negative reservations about Holden and Alyssa's relationship, convinced that it can only end badly. Joey Lauren Adams portrayal of the girl, Alyssa Jones, is overwhelmingly powerful at times. She really doesn't hold back in the more pivotal scenes of the film that decide the outcome and state of her relationship with Holden. All of the primary actors push their performances to the point of being painfully honest.

Of course, a Kevin Smith film wouldn't be complete without an appearance from Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith). Their appearance in the film is paramount to the films events, as Silent Bob shirks the restraints of his title in order to tell the story of his own romantic failure, that he was once 'Chasing Amy'; pining for the affections of another lesbian who he still can't forget. This idea particularly correlates with the central concept of the film, that being that the world of the post-ending kiss just doesn't exist in real life.

Smith tells a story that doesn't cop out on the painful details of love; it is messy, people's feelings can get smashed to pieces, and a lot of the time people don't always end up together. Chasing Amy is just that. It surmises a real, honest message about love that you won't find in many other places.

4/5