jack_ryder (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jack_ryder) wrote2010-08-13 06:54 am
jack_ryder) wrote2010-08-13 06:54 am
Splice
What to expect from Splice is revealed at the very start as the production credits roll:
Guillermo Del Toro gave money - expect elaborate creature effects
Joel Silver gave money - expect gratuitous sex and violence
Canal+ gave money - expect a French-Canadian mime.
Splice concerns the offspring of two scientists; Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) (yes, I know); that was produced ex-utero. Fortunately Dren (as "she" is called) ages rapidly so we can see a fairly swift evolution from a creature effect to a French Canadian mime, instead of spending most of the film staring at a blastocyst.
Brody and Polley do what they can within the thinly etched strokes of their characters, "Dren" becomes a sympathetic character as we follow her from infancy into adolescence, and it looks like Splice might get away with saying some interesting things about scientific ethics and responsibility, on what it means to be alive.
But then Natali revs up the plot engine and jumps the film over a whole aquarium full of sharks. In one scene the tone changes from sub-Cronenberg to sub-Reitman, it was like watching the film kill itself in front of your eyes.
The film tries to recover after fatally shooting itself in the foot, attempting for a final scene of disturbing ambiguity but by that time it had completely exhausted the good will of the audience. My film buddy A. pointed out that the film could have survived had it possessed a sense of humour. Sadly, that was not to be.
If you're still curious (and there are so few attempts serious SF films recently, I can well understand) catch it on DVD - just, for your own sake, stop the film the moment Adrien Brody puts on the record.
Just stop the film there, and pretend the production ran out of money, you'll be doing yourself a favour.
And you'll still be able to look Adrien Brody in the eye, the next time you see him.
Guillermo Del Toro gave money - expect elaborate creature effects
Joel Silver gave money - expect gratuitous sex and violence
Canal+ gave money - expect a French-Canadian mime.
Splice concerns the offspring of two scientists; Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) (yes, I know); that was produced ex-utero. Fortunately Dren (as "she" is called) ages rapidly so we can see a fairly swift evolution from a creature effect to a French Canadian mime, instead of spending most of the film staring at a blastocyst.
Brody and Polley do what they can within the thinly etched strokes of their characters, "Dren" becomes a sympathetic character as we follow her from infancy into adolescence, and it looks like Splice might get away with saying some interesting things about scientific ethics and responsibility, on what it means to be alive.
But then Natali revs up the plot engine and jumps the film over a whole aquarium full of sharks. In one scene the tone changes from sub-Cronenberg to sub-Reitman, it was like watching the film kill itself in front of your eyes.
The film tries to recover after fatally shooting itself in the foot, attempting for a final scene of disturbing ambiguity but by that time it had completely exhausted the good will of the audience. My film buddy A. pointed out that the film could have survived had it possessed a sense of humour. Sadly, that was not to be.
If you're still curious (and there are so few attempts serious SF films recently, I can well understand) catch it on DVD - just, for your own sake, stop the film the moment Adrien Brody puts on the record.
Just stop the film there, and pretend the production ran out of money, you'll be doing yourself a favour.
And you'll still be able to look Adrien Brody in the eye, the next time you see him.
no subject
I highly recommend the Canadian series Regenesis that deals with bioethics in much more interesting and less sensational manner and appears to have people playing real scientists doing real scientific things. I can't recommend Splice, even though I'd like to.