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Set at the dawn of the new millennium in an alternate near-future, Strange Days presents us a world where people can record their memories using a special device dubbed SQUID. These memories are often sold in the black market to allow people to leave their mundane existence and live someone else's experiences; whether it's the thrill and adrenaline of a robbery or the pleasures of a sexual tryst. Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) is a former cop that now lives off of selling these recordings, which puts him in the middle of a conspiracy surrounding a murdered rapper as well as his ex-girlfriend (Juliette Lewis).
For many years of the video rental days, I picked up this film and put it back on the shelf. When streaming took over, picking up and putting back changed to hovering over only to keep scrolling. I don't know why I never followed through, since it seems like the kind of film I would enjoy. It stars actors I like, a talented director I enjoy, and more importantly, a genre that's very much up my alley and a story that sounds intriguing enough. Its appearance in several countdowns here seems to have "forced my hand", though.
All of the above things are probably the film's main strengths. Kathryn Bigelow's direction is solid, and the way she handles the noir-ish elements is effective. However, as intriguing as the premise might be, the overall story seems to be pretty thin and it meanders a bit as the characters go from one place to the other. Also, the connection between some of these subplots (the murdered rapper, the SQUID memories, Nero and his ex-girlfriend) is a bit clumsy.
Still, Bigelow is helped by a great cast; especially Fiennes, who has a certain "sad eye" vibe to him that suits the tragedy of his character, and Angela Bassett who does her best with a severely underwritten part as Nero's kick-ass limo driver friend. It's a shame that her character isn't better integrated, but it gets to a point where she even feels unnecessary. Meanwhile, Lewis' performance is spotty, while Sizemore seemed a bit miscast. There's also Michael Wincott, Vincent D'Onofrio, and William Fichtner, for those that enjoy spotting character actors.
Overall, Strange Days is a stylish sci-fi thriller that plays a lot like a classic film noir by putting this cynical lead character in an impossible situation against the world where he has to find the truth about what's happening. I just wish there was a bit more flesh covering the bones of what could've been a good story; one that I know a lot of friends love, so I'm a bit disappointed that this wasn't as "Technicolor" for me as it was for them.
Grade:
STRANGE DAYS
(1995, Bigelow)
(1995, Bigelow)
"One man's mundane and desperate existence is another man's Technicolor."
Set at the dawn of the new millennium in an alternate near-future, Strange Days presents us a world where people can record their memories using a special device dubbed SQUID. These memories are often sold in the black market to allow people to leave their mundane existence and live someone else's experiences; whether it's the thrill and adrenaline of a robbery or the pleasures of a sexual tryst. Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) is a former cop that now lives off of selling these recordings, which puts him in the middle of a conspiracy surrounding a murdered rapper as well as his ex-girlfriend (Juliette Lewis).
For many years of the video rental days, I picked up this film and put it back on the shelf. When streaming took over, picking up and putting back changed to hovering over only to keep scrolling. I don't know why I never followed through, since it seems like the kind of film I would enjoy. It stars actors I like, a talented director I enjoy, and more importantly, a genre that's very much up my alley and a story that sounds intriguing enough. Its appearance in several countdowns here seems to have "forced my hand", though.
All of the above things are probably the film's main strengths. Kathryn Bigelow's direction is solid, and the way she handles the noir-ish elements is effective. However, as intriguing as the premise might be, the overall story seems to be pretty thin and it meanders a bit as the characters go from one place to the other. Also, the connection between some of these subplots (the murdered rapper, the SQUID memories, Nero and his ex-girlfriend) is a bit clumsy.
Still, Bigelow is helped by a great cast; especially Fiennes, who has a certain "sad eye" vibe to him that suits the tragedy of his character, and Angela Bassett who does her best with a severely underwritten part as Nero's kick-ass limo driver friend. It's a shame that her character isn't better integrated, but it gets to a point where she even feels unnecessary. Meanwhile, Lewis' performance is spotty, while Sizemore seemed a bit miscast. There's also Michael Wincott, Vincent D'Onofrio, and William Fichtner, for those that enjoy spotting character actors.
Overall, Strange Days is a stylish sci-fi thriller that plays a lot like a classic film noir by putting this cynical lead character in an impossible situation against the world where he has to find the truth about what's happening. I just wish there was a bit more flesh covering the bones of what could've been a good story; one that I know a lot of friends love, so I'm a bit disappointed that this wasn't as "Technicolor" for me as it was for them.
Grade: