Dark City (1998)
Director: Alex Proyas
Starring: Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, William Hurt, Jennifer Connelly
Primary genre: Science fiction
Secondary genre: Neo-noir
Like all the great science fiction movies, Dark City flopped when it was released in 1998. Costing $27 million, it grossed roughly the same amount and was quickly thrown by the 90s audiences into a cinematic limbo despite enthusiastic reviews. A shame really as Dark City has a more grounded and gloomier aesthetic as opposed to the cyberpunk style of The Matrix, a film sharing many traits with Alex Proyas’ post The Crow (1994) follow-up.
“When was the last time you remember doing something during the day?”
FYI, The Matrix used Dark City’s sets for some of its sequences to invoke the same neo-noir atmosphere in angles, colours, and mood lighting. While the Wachowskis elected to go full dystopian and conceive a new way of shooting action, Proyas and screenwriter David S. Goyer (Blade (1998), the Dark Knight trilogy (2005-2012)) maintain key neo-noir tropes (a femme fatale, night time investigations, dark alleys, jazz bars, and dodgy characters) albeit with a more subliminal sci-fi twist. The plot is centered around our hero’s efforts to piece together scattered clues of his identity and why he is being pursued by some men in black (another Matrix resemblance) who carry deadly purposes. The script presents everything from John Murdoch’s perspective (an excellent Rufus Sewell) who is there but does not know where he is, thus offering unreliable narration in a metropolis lacking sunshine.
As the film progresses, the merge of genres might bother some. It is this fusion, though, that gives Dark City a repeated viewing quality amidst all the sensational shots which Proyas puts together having already flexed his muscles into creating distinct environments traversed by impossible routes as seen in his Crow (1994). In contrast to the constant rain and in-your-face social decay of a modern Detroit, here things are constantly and persistently dark to remind us of all the great noir movies of the 40s (The Maltese Falcon (1941)); each alley or apartment oozes a story of its own courtesy of production designers Patrick Tatopoulos (Independence Day (1996), Godzilla (1998)), and George Liddle, easily the MVPs.
The city itself is a character boasting jaw-dropping visuals, a marvel of sets and miniatures brimming with art nouveau and art deco details. Each shot is incredibly arresting, used to perfection to tell this exciting story amidst Proyas’s ingenious way of shooting this Gotham-like labyrinth. The strangely peculiar yet tour de force approach make Dark City among one of the most visually arresting motion pictures of all time matched by Dariusz Wolski’s highly kinetic cinematography (The Crow, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), Prometheus (2012)) that gives every frame depth, scope, and a distant, hard to describe feeling.
Although emphasis is being placed on a sense of paranoia and despair, Dark City has a surprisingly quick pace and an even quicker editing which can dilute some of its mystery impact. Amidst the few action moments, Proyas implements a bit too much MTV style of editing depriving the audience of the chance to soak in the surroundings, especially when he is moving towards a rather Michael Bay-esque climax (!). And while the supporting cast is excellent, the less said about Kiefer Sutherland’s pause-and-deliver-the-lines method the better.
If you ignore the common Matrix threads, you will realise how Dark City is the grandfather of Wachowskis’ landmark flick - a much more serious sci-fi attempt a year prior. Like its grandson, however, it projects its own sense of unique and unparalleled style. If not for the story, stay for the mesmerizing visuals, incredible cinematography, and production design that maximises the possibilities which only the medium of cinema can offer.
The Matrix’s neo-noir predecessor
+Wolski’s cinematography
+Engaging story’
+Great cast
+Landmark production design
+Inventive direction
-Quick editing
-Sutherland’s line delivery