Cloverfield

There are not any spoilers here, so you can read through this without fear.

I had been looking forward to this movie since I saw the trailer/teaser when I saw Transformers. The lack of "story" revealed in the trailers was intriguing to say the least. All we knew is that something bad was happening to Manhattan.

I enjoy a good monster movie, with some beastie smashing buildings and generally spreading mayhem wherever it goes. In our post-9/11 world, it is a refreshing break from the human created destruction we see every night on the news. From the beginning of the film, we are brought into a world where something has gone terribly wrong. The film introduction refers to the area "formerly known as Central Park." From this moment on, the suspension of disbelief must begin. While every review has commented on the shaky nature of the hand-help camera through which we view the carnage, all I can say is that while it may be annoying and slightly nauseating, it is realistic. We are treated to some expository footage of friends at a going-away party which serves to give us a minimal back-story about the people we will be spending the film with. Some are cookie-cutter 20-something GenXers, while others we actually kind of like. The laugh from the bodega operator when Lily gets off a pretty good snap at her boyfriend is priceless. After about 20 minutes of watching people drinking and causing drama, the REAL drama begins. The sight of the Statue of Liberty's head sliding down the street is part of the trailer, so no big surprise. What is a surprise is that isn't just a movie about a monster. I have read all of the complaints about how the movie opens up the wounds of 9/11 by showing terrifyingly familiar images of dust clouds billowing down the streets of NYC. I don't think that this was intentionally done to remind us of that day, but that day did show us exactly what the destruction and aftermath of a falling skyscraper looks like. That piece of realism makes what we see in this film believable, because the images of the World Trade Centers falling is indelibly ingrained into our minds. This movie accurately portrays the panic and confusion of knowing that something horrible is happening, but having no idea what it is or why it is happening. Our digital world is fully locked and loaded with camcorders, cell phone videos, and a myriad of other recording devices, so I can believe that someone would want to capture all of this on video. There were times when I wanted to yell "Screw the camera! RUN!!!!" but I can also understand that having a record of what happened would be important in trying to understand things when the crisis is over. The thing that struck me most about the story was the seemingly unreal decisions that the protagonists in the movie make. Many other reviewers have thought that the quest to save his true love was completely unbelievable, but what made me understand it were the little things like the internal struggle we see outside the Sephora store to find a way to recharge the cell phone and the agonizing phone call from his mother in the subway station. The fact that they choose to go on a seemingly stupid and meaningless trip uptown to save a friend makes perfect sense given the fact that when the world you know has just gone to hell in a handbasket, all you want is to connect with the things that you understand. This movie never tells you the answers to the BIG questions, like where did the beastie come from, why is it here, and what the hell happens when you get bitten. The lack of answers is a good thing, because in the case of dramatic emergencies, precious few people know exactly what the hell is going on, and those people, if you find them, are not going to spend the time to explain it to everyone they meet.

All in all, this movie is a short, intense, punch in the gut movie that left me feeling like I had gotten my money's worth. Other than an obligatory full frontal shot of the monster (RAHR!) that could have been left out, this movie leaves you wondering just what the hell happened, much like you would if this had happened to you.