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Dark City
Dark City is something of a miracle: It manages to be a supernatural thriller, a noirish detective story, a science fiction epic, a murder mystery, a zombie flick, and a re-imagining of the story of Christ all rolled into one. Most films have a hard enough time making one or two of its elements work successfully, and that Dark City can combine so many different genres and make them all work brilliantly to create a powerful cinematic experience sounds almost too good to be true. How could a film take as many risks and pull so many elements together without seeming crowded, muddled, or too ambitious? It does, in a way that is stirring, imaginative, and refreshing. I’ve seen the film over a dozen times by now, and I still can’t figure out how writer/director Alex Proyas weaves himself through this endeavor and walks away unscathed. I can’t figure out what cinematic combinations he uses to make all of these elements work. Nevertheless, they do work, and Dark City succeeds in being one of the greatest films of all the above genres ever made. At this point, I must advance with this review cautiously. Part of the experience of Dark City is approaching it with little knowledge of its story, so that it can unfold before your eyes with its clever storytelling, amazing visuals, and its remarkable set design in a way that you never know what is coming next. Yet an in-depth discussion merits giving away certain plot elements, especially if I attempt to speculate how this film is such a towering achievement. My solution, then, is to warn that if you haven’t yet seen the film, then you should read no more and simply trust my claims in the opening paragraph. For the rest of you who have seen it, I shall write my review as part of my series on the many film adaptations of Christ and focus on this aspect of Dark City. If you haven’t seen it yet, this is your final warning. Read no more. Before I talk about the obvious parallels with Christ, I shall begin with the nature of the film’s storytelling. Dark City has so much to it that had it been told in chronological order, it would have been a movie of biblical proportions, giving the film an epic feeling but certainly lacking in terms of suspense or much surprise. The magic behind the story is the mystery surrounding the Strangers and how John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell), the futuristic Christ, is able to discover the truth behind them and attempt to do battle with them. Therefore, instead of being told chronologically, the film transforms its story into something of a murder mystery: It essentially begins at the end and works its way to its revelation backwards through personal reflections, revelations, and flashbacks. No other fantasy film since Highlander has employed this structure as well as Proyas; by the time that we have figured out what is going on and how Murdoch fits into the picture as the new Messiah, we have become so absorbed with this world that we might as well be fighting Murdoch’s battles with him, on the screen. On that note, the setting that Dark City creates lives up to its title. It is a world inhabited by dark, sinister shadows and twisted, distorted angles—a huge, unnamed metropolis that exists only in the night. Like film noir, these streets are always wet, always dark, and they have evil eyes. Unlike other modern attempts at film noir, however (Batman comes to mind), this wonderful setting does not tower over the story but rather enhances it and becomes its own important character. The darkness of the city and the eventual disclosure of its true identity are essential to the Messianic theme. Such realizations make Murdoch aware of the world that he is setting his fellow humans free from. I have said that this film is many things, including a zombie film, a science-fiction epic, and a supernatural thriller. All of this is true, but at its heart, Dark City is essentially a futuristic update of the life of Christ. All of the additional plot elements add to the richness of the film, but John Murdoch as a Jesus Christ for a future age is the true revelation in the film. In fact, as I write this review, I realize that Proyas makes the combination of these different genres work by focusing on John Murdoch as the Messiah for the people of the dark city. Everything else is secondary, meant to add dimension to our revelation that Murdoch is Christ re-imagined. Consider these parallels to Christ: In the same way that the Bible states that Adam's original sin is the reason that evil has enslaved the world, the humans in Dark City have fallen into enslavement because of the sin of one man, Dr. Daniel Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland), who has betrayed his race to aid the Strangers in their experiments. The Strangers themselves clearly represent Christ's largest adversaries, the Pharisees - both are an authoritative group who have blinded their citizens with lies and deceit. In this hopeless city, John Murdoch is introduced in a room numbered 614. John 6:14 reads, “When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!’", a passage that defines Murdoch’s very nature and mission. Murdoch’s coming is heralded by the mad Detective Walenski (Colin Friels), who understands what is happening in the city and tries to lead people to the truth, just as John the Baptist readied Christ’s coming by pointing people to God's truth. When Walenski finally confronts Murdoch, the detective understands Murdoch's importance and reveals it to him, just as the Baptist did to Jesus. In addition, Murdoch can work miracles, including the ability to move objects with his mind. Because of this, his presence in the dark city cannot be explained as anything except a supernatural, divine intervention. Certainly, some of the Strangers attempt to explain his powers as an evolutionary process in their specimens, but their leaders quickly dismiss this as illogical. The parallels continue with Murdoch's confrontations with his enemies and with temptation: When the Strangers see Murdoch's miraculous abilities, they seek to kill him because he is a threat to their establishment, just as the Pharisees and Romans wanted Christ dead when they saw his powers. When the Strangers first try to inject him with a vaccine that will turn him evil, Murdoch’s very nature rejects the evil, just as Christ rejected the temptation of sin. When Murdoch is seeking to discover his identity, he is tempted by a prostitute, and when he resists her, he knows that he is not who his enemies think he is. This is a very similar experience to Christ's encounter in the desert, when he was tempted with sin by the Devil and, when he resisted, had his identity confirmed to him. Consider also Murdoch's relationships, which continue to indicate that he the Christ of the future age: As Murdoch discovers who he is, he collects some followers, such as a homicide detective (William Hurt) and Murdoch’s own wife (Jennifer Connelly) and reveals the truth to them. They in turn aid him in his mission, just as Christ recruited and taught the the apostles to aid him in his ministry. Despite his powers and his teaching, Murdoch's Uncle Karl (John Bluthal) refuses to believe his nephew, just as Christ's family rejected his ministry. Then, of course, we have the trial, passion, and resurrection, reimagined for this alien world: When Murdoch is finally captured by the Strangers, he undergoes a trial and is eventually strapped onto a sphere that stretches him out in a way that is clearly reminiscent of the crucifixion. On this futuristic cross, Murdoch is finally implanted with the evil that the Strangers have always wanted him to have. Once he has suffered their torment and taken the Stranger’s evil upon himself, he is able to emerge perfected, obtaining his own type of resurrection and defeating the Strangers at last, thus setting his fellow humans free from their darkness and oppression. Thus, Murdoch as Christ is the clear thesis throughout the film. Here is a Savior who has been sent divinely to save a unique humanity from its own type of enslavement. As the Messiah, Murdoch struggles to discover his identity and how he fits into the divine plan that has been laid out for him. Once he is sacrificed by the Strangers and suffers through the very nature of evil, he is able to overcome it and, fully aware of his purpose, fulfill his mission. Certainly the humans of the film are still trapped in their city, but they are ruled and governed by a just and righteous Messiah, who has recreated the city as a sort of new heaven. The point is clear: Here is the life, ministry, miracles, death, resurrection, and second coming of Christ, updated as a science-fiction thriller and reconfigured to embody sin and Satan in the Strangers, human suffering and enslavement in the dark city, and salvation in John Murdoch. I
could go on, of course, about the many other dazzling elements
of the film. We could discuss the flawless cast, the ceaselessly
imaginative set design, Proyas’ attempt to constantly provide
us with new and original images that take our breath away, the
eerie soundtrack, the imagery, the camera angles, the plot twists,
and the brilliantly satisfying and unconventional conclusion.
But if you have seen the film, then you know all of this. If,
by chance, you have read this review without having seen the film,
then I have already given too much away, and shame on you for
letting it happen! As it stands, Dark City must be experienced
before it can be discussed. It must be appreciated with a clean
slate; you need only bring an open mind and a big imagination.
It is, without a doubt, the most visionary piece of science-fiction
filmmaking since Metropolis.
Whoever said, “There is nothing new under the sun,”
has obviously never seen Dark City.
Cast: A New Line Cinema release of a Mysery Clock production. Written and directed by Alex Proyas. M.P.A.A. rating: R, for violence and brief nudity (not sexual). Running time: 100 minutes. Original United States theatrical release date: February 17, 1998. Questions? Comments? E-mail me: danel_the_tinman@hotmail.com |
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