Watchmen
I missed Dr. Malcolm Long’s journey into the heart of Rorschach’s darkness. I missed the buildup to the climax on the streets, and the death of Hollis Mason. I missed reading excerpts of Mason’s memoirs “Under the Hood,” and the thematic unity of “Tales of the Black Freighter,” although I know they’ll soon be delivered back into the fabric when the DVD hits. I missed the significance of The New Frontiersman as an alternative voice for the times. I missed Adrian Veidt’s impassioned ruminations on Alexander the Great. And dammit, I did miss that Giant Squid at the end, and the original idea behind our “villain’s” master plan.
I missed these things from the singular work by Alan Moore and David Gibbons (which I just finished reading a day before)…and yet, I didn’t. So powerful is the original vision they had in their 1986 landmark comic series, and so faithful is the adaptation of that vision by “300” director Zack Snyder, that “Watchmen” the movie delivers on its’ own terms. True, the film’s pacing (at a run-time of 160-plus minutes) is problematic, but as I felt with Peter Jackson’s “King Kong,” only some trimming around the edges- without any real scene exclusions- would be necessary to make it a more headlong narrative, in keeping with the panels and thought bubbles of the densely-packed graphic novel. If you’ve read the graphic novel, you know how impressive the accomplishment of Snyder and screenwriters David Hayter and Alex Tse is in how much they got in.
It all starts with the death of a comedian in Manhattan. Specifically, The Comedian aka Edward Blake (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who makes Comedian a perfect asshole, as in the book), a vigilante-in-retirement who did some vicious work in Vietnam back in the day for the government when not hanging out with his masked brethren on the mean streets. But the Keane Act in 1977 put an end to his crimefighting days and the vigilante justice of those like him, including Ozymandias aka Adrian Veidt (Matthew Goode, playing “the world’s smartest man” with the right amount of self-righteous ego that mantle implies); Nite Owl aka Dan Dreiberg (Patrick Wilson, who nails the character’s everyman isolation and shyness), who took the lame-brain nickname previous Owl Hollis Mason created and used advanced technology to really take the visage places; Silk Spectre II aka Laurie Jupiter (Malin Akerman, who I felt hit the character’s doubts about following in her mother’s footsteps, as well as the emotional conflicts she has with Dr. Manhattan, just right), whose mother- the original Silk Spectre (aka Sally Jupiter, played by the always lovely Carla Gugino, although the old age makeup failed to convince)- has a complicated history with The Comedian; Dr. Manhattan aka Jon Osterman (Billy Crudup, who captures the doc’s detachment from humanity with poignant voice and heartbreak), who turned into a blue specter through a freak accident, and now is a symbol of an ever-expanding Cold War on the brink; and Rorschach (Jackie Earl Haley), whose ink-blot mask shifts into shapes as frequently as the sociopathic character finds conspiracy where there might just be coincidence. It’s Rorschach- who still haunts the streets with purpose the stench of humanity in decay bleeding off of him- that brings the Watchmen back into the fold following the Comedian’s death, sensing a larger plan in motion.
More than any other comic book story, “Watchmen” is a direct product of the time it was conceived in. Moore and Gibbons set the story in an alternate universe 1985 from their own, one where Richard Nixon’s ending of the war in Vietnam (with the help of Dr. Manhattan) has led to a five-term Presidency, and one where masked superheroes are a normal part of society (such as it was before the Keane Act anyway- the brilliant opening title sequence, set to Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” gives us a concise glimpse into the fraternity of masked adventurers that led to the current time). Although un-allowed to practice vigilante justice anymore, that hasn’t stopped Dr. Manhattan- who’s shaking up with Laurie Jupiter- and Adrian Veidt from becoming real-world icons (Veidt runs a global conglomerate that includes the sale of action figures based off of his superhero alter ego), teaming up together to create an alternative to fossil fuels that could hold the key to peace in the world.
And to think, all of this is just the setup to the universe, without really having much to do with the story’s drive, which leads to a potential conspiracy to killed masked heroes. But there’s so much more to the story than a simple conspiracy. As in Moore and Gibbons’ graphic novel, there’s the details that fill in the emotional and philosophical fabric of the film. If “The Dark Knight” was a jump into the darker possibilities in comic book movies, “Watchmen” takes the steps of Chris Nolan’s film into uncharted water. Nolan’s film still had some of the trappings of a fantastical universe for all its’ realism- “Watchmen” (the graphic novel and the movie) explores what a world with superheroes might really be like. Brutal violence, sexual liberation by way of the fetishistic hiding behind a mask, rape, adultery, unsettling ideological worldviews- all take a front seat in the story of “Watchmen,” and through Snyder’s and cinematographer Larry Fong’s camera are seen with unflinching reality and with no sense of exploitation and glory. Who knew the director of such thrill-seeking entertainments like 2004’s terrific “Dawn of the Dead” remake and the hallow action of “300” had such toughness in him?
Two characters in particular shape the world of “Watchmen.” Dr. Manhattan is a symbol of the anxiety and build-up between the US and Russia at the time- indeed, a key plotline in the story is Russian aggression in Afghanistan- to be sure, but when he’s exiled to Mars as part of the larger plot, we begin to see a larger, more profound side to his character that adds depth to the notions presented in “Watchmen.”
Time is a critical idea in the story. A clock exists, moving ever closer to the time that might bring on mutual destruction. Jon’s accident only happened because he forgot a watch in his work area (although not really shown in the movie, in the books he learned watchmaking from his father). And there are times when Jon appears to have learned how to be not just in multiple places at once but also multiple times, such as when he brings Laurie to Mars (a marvelous visual landscape and one of the reasons the film is- for me- an early favorite for the Best Visual Effects Oscar next year), already cognizant of how their conversation will go, although like in life, not all things can be seen so clearly. And early on in his exile, we glimpse into his philosophical mindset since the accident as he flashes between his time as a human and times after the accident, all which sometimes appear to be remembered concurrently. And like most superhero characters, he makes- in a way, an unwitting- sacrifice for the sake of the world that has profound moral implications for the world in the coming years.
But while Dr. Manhattan comes to define “Watchmen’s” more nobel nature in the idea of what a hero who stands apart from humanity can be, Rorschach is a glimpse into an even-more-tragic worldview. Rorschach- whose real identity is only learned after he is framed for the murder of a former nemesis- is a case study into the effects of past experience on a fragile mind. Born to an ungrateful mother, he displayed an unhealthy tendency towards violence from an early age. This included going into a fit of rage when an older boy harassed him about his prostitute mother, culminating in his gruesome retribution- seen in unsettling flashback during a session with a psychiatrist while he’s imprisoned- against a child killer prior to the Keane Act. His obsessively grim outlook on life, coupled with his violent brand of vigilantism (which doesn’t stop even after he’s unmasked in prison, when a fellow inmate with a grudge tries to shank him, and Rorschach throws hot oil in his face), has even the Watchmen branding him as a sociopath. But in fact, Rorschach is the film’s purest character- getting to the dark soul of the idea of a superhero, and uncompromising in his values, such as they are.
If any justice exists, Jackie Earle Haley- who was nominated for an Oscar back in ’06 for his role as a pedophile in “Little Children”- will find himself nominated again next year for his nerve-deep portrayal of Rorschach. This is the character as Moore and Gibbons envisioned made flesh in a performance every bit of worthy of comparison to Heath Ledger’s Joker in “Dark Knight.” I wish the film had made more time for his in-prison psyche sessions with Dr. Malcolm Long, who in the book finds himself deeply effected by the sessions that leads to a divorce, but Haley cuts to the bare-bones psychology of what makes this character tick, and he doesn’t clean the wound.
So many brilliant moments brought to life. The Comedian’s funeral & death. Jon and Laurie on Mars, and the apparatus Jon seems to create out of thin air to show Laurie the wonders of the planet’s barren landscape. The unsettling erotic heat of Dan and Laurie’s succumbing to passion in- and out- of uniform. Rorschach’s Diary, narrated by Haley with unnerving intensity. All realized by a filmmaker whose love for the source material is genuine, and scored by an eclectic combinations of mood-setting songs and Tyler Bates’ exciting and adventurous score. Alan Moore may never give Snyder’s film a chance (he’s had it up to here with Hollywood), but if he ever does, I think he’d be pleasantly surprised with the results.
**In 2020, I finally watched Snyder’s “Ultimate Cut,” which actually restores many of the things I said I missed at the beginning of this review. This time around, I really liked the way the animated “Tales of the Black Freighter” was incorporated into the larger fabric of the story, and how the ending is built up to, starting with the death of Hollis Mason. The 215-minute running time exposed pacing issues in Snyder’s visual style, though, that makes me dip this rating down a bit from where it originally was. I’m glad I’ve seen the “Ultimate Cut,” though, and think it works collectively better as an adaptation of the graphic novel. Now, I feel like I’m ready to tackle HBO’s acclaimed miniseries from 2019.
