Cloverfield
Maybe I should see every highly-anticipated geek chic film two months late…
From the time “Cloverfield” came to theatres to the time I finally got a chance to see it recently, my mind had been wiped clean of any buzz or friends’s opinions of the movie that took the internet by storm with questions and queries when the ominous trailer- topped off with an evocative shot of a headless Statue of Liberty- hit screens before “Transformers.” All that was left was my own curiosity.
Seriously, I should watch more films like this.
True, some films of this ilk cut deeper into their characters, and some boast more extravagant visual effects, but few are done so compellingly. Produced by “Alias” and “Lost” wunderkind J.J. Abrams (who made a successful transition to film director with his underrated “M:i-III”), “Cloverfield,” long titled “1/18/08,” is the type of visceral and fun monster movie that Roland Emmerich’s dreadful “Godzilla” remake should have been. Where that film was trying to be the biggest, “Cloverfield” keeps things on a small scale- completely being seen through the viewfinder of the common man- and delivers the jolts of excitement and freakouts that film sorely lacked.
There’s not much to the film on a story level. Simply put, it starts with a going away party for Rob (Michael Stahl-David), about to advance in business by moving out to Japan, put on by his brother Jason (Mike Vogel) and girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas). Rob’s best friend Hud (T.J. Miller) is given the duties of collecting video testimonies, but he’s more interested in hitting on Marlena (Lizzy Caplan), a hottie he remembers from before who just stopped by before meeting some friends. The fireworks start emotionally when Rob’s old flame Beth (Odette Yustman) shows up with a new guy, which forces Rob to flip and kick her out of the party. This would be your cue to enter the monster, Mr. Abrams.
Thankfully, Abrams brings on the chaos, and a going away party becomes ground zero for these characters to save their skin as the monster- never explained- begins to rip apart Manhattan. Not long into the carnage, Rob gets a call from Beth, who’s back at her apartment across town and injured from the attack. You can probably figure out where things head from there.
The point of reference for Abrams and his creative team (including director Matt Reeves (an Abrams vet from “Felicity”) and screenwriter Drew Goddard (who cut his teeth of “Buffy” before meeting up with Abrams on “Alias” and “Lost”)) seems less “Godzilla,” however, than Spielberg’s underrated “War of the Worlds”- epic destruction seen through the prism of the ordinary man. Add a little “Blair Witch Project” in the mix (courtesy of the amateur-feeling hand-held “shaky cam” achieved by both actors and cinematographer Michael Bonvillain) and a dash of “The Mist” (or really, any other story of this type), and do you really need to know more about this film’s story? Basically it comes down to narrow escapes and moments of suspense (one in particular where a camcorders night vision setting adds to the tension considerably) as the characters do things that are, shall we say, against all logical reason in the face of such circumstances. The kick-ass visual effects of the monster (which trumps Emmerich’s Godzilla and Spielberg’s “War” tripods and aliens in blood-curdling villainy, and set a new benchmark for what digital photography can achieve) are simply the icing on the cake for a monster movie that engages you with the appropriate level of sap (like moments from an earlier video with Rob and Beth) and entertains you with the maximum level of thrills. If art plays any part in this movie, it’s in the art of scary you shitless and freaking you out. Mission accomplished, Mr. Abrams. Your team has done well.
