The Cell
From AwardAnnals
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| Director(s) | Tarsem Singh |
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| Distributor | New Line Home Video |
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| Schizoid serial killer Carl Stargher (Vincent D’Onofrio) has been captured at last, but a neurological seizure has rendered him comatose, and FBI agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughan) has no way to determine the location of Stargher’s latest and still-living victim. To probe the secrets contained in Stargher’s traumatized psyche, the FBI recruits psychologist Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez), who has mastered a new technology that allows her to enter the mind of another person. What she finds in Stargher’s head is a theater of the grotesque, which, as envisioned by… | |
Honors
Reviews
Amazon.com
Schizoid serial killer Carl Stargher (Vincent D’Onofrio) has been captured at last, but a neurological seizure has rendered him comatose, and FBI agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughan) has no way to determine the location of Stargher’s latest and still-living victim. To probe the secrets contained in Stargher’s traumatized psyche, the FBI recruits psychologist Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez), who has mastered a new technology that allows her to enter the mind of another person. What she finds in Stargher’s head is a theater of the grotesque, which, as envisioned by first-time director Tarsem Singh, is a smorgasbord of the surreal that borrows liberally from the Brothers Quay, Czech animator Jan Svankmajer, Hieronymous Bosch, Salvador Dali, and a surplus of other cannibalized sources.
This provides one of the wildest, weirdest visual feasts ever committed to film, and The Cell earns a place among such movie mind-trips as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Altered States, What Dreams May Come, and Un Chien Andalou. Is this a good thing? Sure, if all you want is freakazoid eye-candy. If you’re looking for emotional depth, substantial plot, and artistic coherence, The Cell is sure to disappoint. The pop-psychology pablum of Mark Protosevich’s screenplay would be laughable if it weren’t given such somber significance, and Singh’s exploitative use of sadomasochistic imagery is repugnant (this movie makes Seven look tame), so you’re better off marveling at the nightmare visions that are realized with astonishing potency. The Cell is too shallow to stay in your head for long, but while it’s there, it’s one hell of a show. —Jeff Shannon
Barnes and Noble
In this tense sci-fi thriller debut from director Tarsem Singh (R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” music video), therapist Jennifer Lopez and FBI agent Vince Vaughn must traverse the deranged psyche of serial killer Vincent D’Onofrio. The mission is to find out where D’Onofrio has hidden his latest victim—who is still living but facing a gruesome death. In this taut race against time, Singh brandishes tantalizing and lavish surrealist imagery to define the killer’s mind, recalling influences ranging from Ken Russell’s Altered States to the gothic puppet animation of the Brothers Quay. (On the Platinum Series DVD commentary tracks, Singh even singles out Michael Crichton’s Coma as an influence!) D’Onofrio provides an eerily demented turn as Karl, a schizophrenic sexual deviant who is a god in his own mind, where, of course, super-therapist Lopez is an unwelcome visitor. The chemistry between Lopez and D’Onofrio is unsettling at its worst and terrifying at its best. In addition to Singh’s audio commentaries on the DVD, there is also commentary from members of the production team, plus deleted scenes and an examination of the film’s effects and production design. You can enter the dream state of The Cell and question its metaphors, but when the going gets horrific, remember to just tell yourself, “It’s not real.” Patricia Kim O’Cone
