Cloverfield
by brendyn on Jan.19, 2008, under Random Thoughts
I saw Cloverfield today. The movie is brilliant.
The originality is what I admired the most. Next to that, I admired the reality. Next to that, I admire the emptiness - there’s no closure, and there’s no real beginning. Everything just happens. It’s not disorganized, it flows well, it just happens.
If you don’t know of it, here’s a brief synopsis:
A group of twenty-somethings host a surprise going-away party for their friend Rob. During the party, an explosion is heard coupled with a mysterious roar. There has been a monster attack on New York City, and we’re joining in on the hand-held camera chase to discover what happened.
It was the first movie where I actually connected with the characters on an emotional level. When they had a loss, I felt it. I also felt their confusion, distress, excitement, and so on. I feel there was an immediate connection with the characters. I blame the connection largely on how real the movie is. The hand-held camera POV really adds to the realism. All during the movie, I kept thinking it could happen. Certainly not in the sense that I actually believed it would happen, but it was real enough to believe so.
Originality was prime. The monster was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Like everyone else, it seemed confused and alone. There’s no explanation as to where it comes from, or what it is. But that’s not what the movie is for. What added to the originality and emotion was the fact there they was no music until about 5 minutes into the end credits. That’s right - there was no clever score, no suspenseful music. The acting and direction took care of the suspense.
I felt very involved. I had to force myself to relax my muscles at certain points. I was afraid to see the monster, but at the same time curious. The movie takes you into a scenario and drops you there for the ride. You feel disappointed, you feel anxious, you feel hopeless. You feel like you’re witnessing another terrorist attack.
Ultimately, that’s where it sums up. This movie is about the fear we live with today. Producer J.J. Abrams admitted he wanted to make an original monster movie that belonged to the US, similar to Japan’s Godzilla. He did that. In present day, we are all much more ears-up to our surroundings. This movie allows you to express some of that emotion and go home smiling knowing there was no real loss, no real hurt, no real thing to fear.
