From the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy, It's Retro Nerd Girl with a film review for you.
Today I'll be reviewing the movie Thirteenth Floor released in 1999.
Starring:
Craig Bierko, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Gretchen Mol.
Directed by:
Josef Rusnak
Genre:
Genre is Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rating:
R for violence and language.
Budget:
$16 million (estimated)
IMDb Rating:
7.0
My Rating:
9.2
The Synopsis is:
In 2024, Hannon Fuller is an inventor of a virtual reality system and is mysteriously killed. His best friend and protege, Douglas Hall tries to run the company in his absence, solve his murder and clear his own name in the killing. The only way he can get clues is within the virtual reality system that Hannon was visiting before his death.
The VR world is set in the time of the 1930's, the era of Hannon's youth. Each VR user has an avatar counterpart to download their consciousness into. So in the VR world Douglas takes the identity of his avatar John Ferguson a bank teller.
In the VR world Douglas also sees avatars for Hannon and his co-worker Jason Whitney.
Enjoyment:
Initially the Thirteenth Floor received negative reviews. Many people said that they didn't like the script and it was too confusing... yet they were impressed by the visuals.
This is truly one of my favorite movies that very few people even know about. It came out the same year as the Matrix and another similarly themed movie Existenz and a year after Dark City. It's clear that it didn't copy from these films, but it is dealing with the same topic of virtual or alternative realities. A popular cybernetic topic of conversation at the time, just as game developers were beginning to design more realistic game worlds.
When this film came out in theaters I didn't see it because from the trailer, it looked like it was going to be really scary... more like a kill em up slasher film. That's not my kind of movie. But, it was on TV one night and I didn't even know what movie I was looking at. It blew my mind and ever since I've been a raving lunatic trying to get people to see this unbelievably underrated film. I think it's amazing!
Pacing:
At 1h 40min was actually great for me. Even times that seemed slow, something about the film still engaged me. It’s nearly perfect pacing. Which is difficult with me because I have a short attention span to be completely honest.
*WARNING: FROM THIS POINT FORWARD THERE MAY BE SPOILERS!*
Story:
Incredible. I love surprises and this film gave me plenty.
You could say this is a remake of a german film World on a Wire released in 1973 adapted from the book Simulacron-3 or Counterfit World released in 1963. I can say after watching the film World on a Wire, there are almost exact scenes or quotes in both the Matrix and The Thirteenth Floor. It was really cool to discover this.
The reference to the thirteenth floor is that the corporation that runs the virtual reality program is on the thirteenth floor of an office building. This is odd because many high rises, hotels, and various other buildings skip the number 13 and go straight to 14 when numbering floors because of the general dislike of or superstition regarding the number 13 which many of us still culturally hold today. The appearance of the thirteenth floor is a tip-off to the audience that something is very wrong in the story.
Challenge:
The challenge in this movie was solving the crime of Hannon’s murder, and it was hidden well.
Within the virtual reality world Douglas meets a very dangerous challenge in Jerry Aston, who begins as a swarmy bartender with shifty eyes to one of the nastiest, spiteful, threatening villains you can imagine.
His psychological state is pressed to the limit, as he harbors Hannon’s dark secret and at times, you really feel sorry for him as he is a tortured soul.
Empathy:
Douglas Hall is like-able. He's a pretty average guy that is trying to work out this mystery. His character is pretty simple, but it doesn't stop you from rooting for him because if he solves his conundrum, he'll solve yours. I kinda felt as if I was on the journey with him.
Often times, he doesn't know who to trust and we as the audience don't know who to trust either.
Technical:
Technically, it was good.
Douglas Hall's house is a Frank Lloyd Wright building named Ennis House which has been used as the apartment of Detective Deckard in Blade Runner released in 1982.
The cinematography was breathtaking. The vision of a future world was gorgeously done with CGI. There were many dated special effects, but somehow even they convey a point.
The detail to the 1930's world was incredible... very impressive. Budget was $16 million (estimated) as a comparison Fight Club and the Matrix were both released in 1999 and spent 63 million.
On its budget, it did well.
Performances:
The performances were stellar by most.
Vincent D'Onofrio was amazing at playing two roles that were completely different from one another. What an incredible performer.
Craig Bierko was great at playing his characters as well. However, not everyone was as good. There were a few awkward moments to forgive. Not many though.
Best:
The best thing about this film is definitely the story. It was well written in my opinion. I can't praise that enough.
Wish List:
There really wasn't any gory violence in the film, but there was violence nevertheless. I am not sure what the movie would be like without it, but I always wish for less.
As I said before, there were a few short moments when the acting did feel stiff, like the camera lingering on an actor for too long and they didn't know what to do after delivering their lines. Small things like that.
I wish the marketing for this film were different because the poster gives away too much. It doesn’t give away everything, but once you see the film, you wish that it could have been more imaginatively discreet.
The ending:
The only thing I can stay about the ending is that it's surprising and breathtaking at the same time. For 1999 and where special effects have come, this movie used tools of it’s day very well.
Summary:
First of all, the concept for this film is just brilliant. Virtual reality did you say? Yes, bring it on. This is sci-fi noir at it's creepiest level.
And you'd think that with this movie being like the matrix concerning virtual worlds, it never feels like the matrix because it's not an action movie, it's more cerebral, beautiful, and mysterious. The story keeps peeling open like an onion.
It questions moral deviance in the virtual reality world where crime doesn't inflict actual pain on anyone or thing, so we believe. What happens when we strive to make the virtual realities real and give the characters in the world identities, personalities, synthetic consciousness?
Well, that is a wonderful age old topic for discussion. If you haven't seen this movie and you love psychological sci-fi, just give this movie a try. I think it’s really good.
That sums up my review. I hope you liked it. This is Retro Nerd Girl signing off.
Take care movie lovers! I'm off to the next review!
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