Movies You Might Have Missed: Strange Days

STRANGE DAYS (1995) - dir. Kathryn Bigelow

I was just reading viewer reviews on IMDB for the celluloid abortion, "Twilight" (2008), when one commentator said something really funny in regard to the film's director, Catherine Hardwicke: "Everyone knows that there's only one Catherine, and it ain't Hardwicke...it's BIGELOW!" That sums up everything I feel for this unjustly obscure cinematic gem from the mid-90's.

Kathryn Bigelow, director of the cult classics "Point Break" (1991) and "Near Dark" (1987), melted my heart with this apocalyptic sci-fi/action collaboration with the megalomaniacal genius James Cameron, who co-wrote the piece brilliantly with screenwriter Jay Cocks. Nearly every year since 1995, I have seen at least one or two films that emulate the mesmerizing cool, techno-savvy style, and socio-politically conscious story of "Strange Days," to varying degrees of success. This year it was "The Watchmen" (yes, I know Alan Moore's comic is from 1987.) Last year, it was "War,Inc." In 2006, it was "Southland Tales." In 1999, it was "The Matrix." And on and on.

The plot of the film concerns itself with one Lenny Nero (played by the excellent Ralph Fiennes), a Los Angeles ex-cop who is obsessed with his ex-girlfriend, Faith (slinky Juliette Lewis), an aspiring singer under the oppressive control of manager and Svengali, Philo Gant (the underrated Michael Wincott). Lenny has been surviving by living a hustler's life: he deals in trading black market clips that can be played directly into the cerebral cortex with the use of the illegal SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) receptor, used by police in undercover surveillance. Life turns upside down for him when one of his customers is found dead and the tape of her murder is delivered to him mysteriously. His buddies Mace (the powerful yet vulnerable Angela Bassett) and cop Max (total scumbag and 90's fixture Tom Sizemore) help Lenny uncover the truth about what happened, getting much more than they bargained for in the process. Oh, and did I mention it will be the year 2000 in two days, and the world is ending?

This plot does not even start to describe just how great "Strange Days" is. You've got the kit and caboodle in this thing, but Bigelow's assured direction and Cameron and Cocks's very intelligent and oddly romantic script keep the focus on the fascinating characters. The daring casting of the film in particular makes this film a winner. Ralph Fiennes plays against type as the smarmy but lovable Lenny Nero, and Fiennes is called on to do some very action-y things in this film that he wasn't known for at the time (or now, for that matter, except for, maybe, his very cool turn as a hitman in "In Bruges"). I think his casting as the lead in an epic Hollywood action film was confusing to critics and viewers, but it was an absolutely brilliant choice since he truly nails the sensitively idealistic heart of what could have been a one-dimensional loser. He was hot in a way no action star has been since.

Angela Bassett as Lenny's long-time friend and eventual love interest is the second major casting coup of "Strange Days." I love her performance. She's a strong black woman whose loyalty and courage help Lenny Nero from going off the deep end as he sinks into the underworld of virtual sex and violence. But she's no Magical Negro: she tells Lenny time and again about himself, not out of self-righteousness, but out of love. Critics felt at the time that Angela Bassett's rockin' hard body and forceful athleticism made the love story between herself and Ralph Fiennes's softer, weaker character unbelievable and laughable. On the contrary: the reversal of gender roles (which are again upset in the climax when Lenny is called upon to risk his life to save Mace) and the interracial aspect of their relationship allowed this to be the freshest onscreen romance folks had seen in a long time. It made one wonder, what did Lenny see in Faith?

Juliette Lewis as Faith completed the clever casting troika of this film. Juliette Lewis is, of course, a 90's acting goddess. She was like Parker Posey's kickass mainstream sister. Again, critics were perplexed as to what Fiennes 's character might find so attractive about her, but it was and remains so clear to me. Like Fiennes and Bassett, Lewis is great at finding the vulnerable place in the heart of an ugly or misunderstood character. Faith's aspiration to be a popular singer is very effectively dramatized by what was, at the time, a highly anticipated show of vocal talent by Juliette, who ably covered PJ Harvey's songs "Hardly Wait" and "Rid of Me" for the film. Her passionately ragged bellow belies the shallow preoccupations of her character, who rejects Lenny's pure love for her because he had nothing to offer her financially or professionally. It's another great performance from a lady who knocked everyone's sox off sucking on Robert DeNiro's thumb in the scary 1991 film, "Cape Fear."

The soundtrack to this movie deserves its own "I Can't Believe You Don't Own This F%#kin' Record" post. Often people are familiar with the soundtrack of this movie over the actual movie itself. I'll cover it in the next entry.

I hate to talk about this last, as this was one of the most innovative things about "Strange Days," but the cinematography was ahead of its time. It used 1st person POV in the scenes depicting the blackjack clips that the user sees when they connect to the SQUID device, and the result is some of the most exciting action sequences that you have ever seen in a film of this kind. Really must-see stuff.

The proto-punk costumes, the Y2K millenium madness atmosphere, the cyberpunk details (SQUID, Lenny's gadget-crazy apartment, the club they frequent called The Retinal Fetish), its commendable confrontation of American racism and police corruption/racial profiling, and its remarkably emotionally effective ending involving a riot of Rodney King proportions (one of my favorite film endings of all time, in fact) make "Strange Days" a definite add to yr Netflix queue. It owes its heart to "Blade Runner"(1982) and William Gibson's 1984 book "Neuromancer" and it's one of the best films of the 90's, period.

This is the fun part. This first video is one incredibly innovative trailer for the film that shows nothing but hottie Ralph Fiennes talking about "jacking in" and "wiretripping..." like, what? I wish Hollywood would refrain from telling the entire story in trailers and find more creative ways to present a film like this:



This next one is NSFW, for you cube monkeys lucky enough to still have a job:





There is a clip of the fantabulous ending up on YouTube, but I don't like the way it looks and don't want to ruin it for you if you've never seen it. It kills me every time as I see it. I'm still madly in love with Ralph Fiennes because of this film.