Number 514 on the top 1000 films of all time is the neo-noir science-fiction film 'Dark City.'
Dark City is set in a dystopic future where the Earth is being secretly controlled by an alien race called the Strangers, who have telekinetic powers. It follows an amnesiac John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) being framed for a murder he can't remember committing. Nor can he remember being married to his wife - nightclub singer Emma (Jennifer Connelly.) Murdoch must figure out the truth while he is being pursued by police-inspector Frank Bumstead (William Hurt.)
Dark City fell victim of one of the classic traps of science-fiction, and noir for that matter, - overly-clever writers who in their rush to show off how clever they are by writing a complicated and convoluted script that they forget to include memorable characters. When writing this review, I had to look up the character's names, as I struggled to remember any of them. I only remember how weird and confusing the film was.
It's entirely possible that I just wasn't smart enough to understand the film. Studio executives were afraid that "stupid" viewers like myself wouldn't get the film, so they insisted that an expository voice-over was added to the beginning. That helped me find my feet, but I soon lost them again.
It didn't help that I had no characters to ground me. William Hurt was bland as the police detective and Kiefer Sutherland was over-the-top as the "mad scientist," Dr Schreber. I say OTT, he was positively camp. Even the future Oscar-winning Jennifer Connelly brought little to the screen. Rufus Sewell was positively fine as John Murdoch, but nothing more than that.
Reportedly, Dark City was one of the Wachowksi sisters' biggest inspirations when it came to making the Matrix - another film that isn't for the stupid like me. But that isn't where the comparisons stop. Both films share the cyber-punk, techno-dystopia housing people who are unknowingly living a lie. Like Neo, John Murdoch becomes the one and escapes the Matrix. Oh my God. I can actually remember the film's plot.
I'm sure there are fans who loved Dark City. It probably has a cult following somewhere or another. But it won't be a cult I will be joining anytime soon.
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