Can you Decipher Cypher (Cypher (DVD))

Member Name: Mildew82

Product:	Cypher (DVD)
Date:	23/07/09 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Classy, fantastically produced, intricate and clever

Disadvantages: Slightly too slow a pace at the beginning if you're searching for a quick thriller

From director Vincenzo Natali, Cypher (2002) is a twisty-turny, slightly futuristic Sci-Fi spy thriller which, as the name suggests, almost requires you as the watcher to decipher its deepest, darkest secrets.

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The Plot
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The scene is set with our protagonist Morgan Sullivan - an unemployed accountant stuck in a depressing marriage and an achingly dull suburban life, who in an uncharacteristic move attempts to escape the rut by joining Digicorp as an undercover industrial spy with a new identity of Jack Thursby. His missions seem simple and harmless enough - just travel to various parts of America to secretly record the events at trade conventions.

But events take an unexpected twist when he meets the mysterious and alluring Rita Foster who at first seems to be a glimpse at a life Morgan could have if he really were Jack Thursby, but later reveals she is there to help as he is in fact being brainwashed into believing he really is Jack Thursby so Digicorp can infiltrate him into the midst of their fierce rivals Sunways.

And if that wasn't complicated enough, Morgan then finds out this was all part of Sunways masterplan to have an un-brainwashed double agent to feed corrupt data back to Digicorp who would believe they had a major victory over Sunways, all instigated by a new player to the table Sebastian Rooks - a mysterious go to man that nobody apart from Rita Foster has ever seen.

Escape from this situation seems impossible for Morgan - any form of betrayal against any of the parties will lead to his immediate elimination...once his role is complete he will be eliminated...how will he survive?

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The Cast
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Jeremy Northam - Morgan Sullivan
Lucy Liu - Rita Foster
Nigel Bennett - Finster
Timothy Webber - Callaway
David Hewlett - Virgil C. Dunn
Kari Matchett - Diane
Kristina Nicoll - Amy


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What makes this film so good?
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The first thing that makes this film so good is the extremely detailed and intricate plotline. Just when you think you may have grasped what is going on you get the rug pulled from below you as you are hit by another mind-blowing twist. This film keeps you absolutely engrossed as you are caught up trying to "decipher" it whilst enjoying the rollercoaster ride.

As a spy thriller, this film relies heavily on the plot twists and the wiles and improvisational skills of Morgan to create the excitement as opposed to the mortal danger and gadgets seen so much in modern spy films like James Bond which gives it a much more sophisticated feel - almost like the old spy thrillers from the 1960s.

The pace of the film is also very important as it begins off very slowly as we are drawn into the mundane life of Morgan, but despite the slow pace there is a great sense of anticipation that things are going to change. This coincides with the use of low-key lighting and a slightly dreary background music to emphasise the dullness of Morgan's life at this point. Certain objects are also cleverly contrasted very brightly against this low-key lighting to emphasise their importance.

The film waits just long enough before suddenly stunning you with an abrupt change of pace, by fracturing the measured atmosphere with some unexpected and disturbing imagery which grabs your attention and starts a snowballing effect of danger and intrigue.

As the film becomes more involved and the pace starts to quicken the lightness of the picture increases and sometimes becomes slightly exaggerated to demonstrate different moods, and the music quickens and becomes more ominous and unsettling as the twists become more unnerving.

This makes for not only a very clever film, but also a very visually pleasing film, with some understated but fun little futuristic contraptions that both look impressive and often completely freaky and then some bigger, more exuberant contraptions that create a great insight into the vision of this particular future.

There are also some great aesthetically pleasing scenes ranging from panoramic views, to the effects of switching between beautifully contrasting colours to stimulate the senses and further suck you in to the events before your eyes. It gives the film the sense of being classily produced with the big bucks being splurged sparingly and the main attention going to make a compelling film rather than a big budget one - something I am always grateful for.

For me, Jeremy Northam was the star of the film. The plotline was based so heavily around Morgan Sullivan that Jeremy Northam really became the focal actor in the film (albeit with a great supporting role from Lucy Lui) and the rest of the cast were merely used as plot devices.

That's not to say that the acting wasn't important for the rest of the cast as they all performed their parts to perfection, particularly Lucy Lui, but the main scrutiny lied with Jeremy Northam - he had to be sublime in his role for the film to work and boy was he. He showed great dexterity as an actor to portray Morgan as the down-trodden, dull, geeky loser through to his transformation into the more confidant (although fake) Jack Thursby (despite the slightly dodgy American accent).


All this attention to detail allowed the film to stay mysterious will keeping up a slow building pace to truly make it an excellent Sci-Fi thriller.

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DVD Extras
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The DVD extras include:

The Making Of
Deleted Scenes
Behind the Scenes
Audio Commentary
Interviews
Trailers

These extras are really great at giving you the insights from the perspectives of both the director and all the cast about how the film was made and the inspirations behind it - both the Making Of and Interviews were particularly interesting and well worth a watch if you have the time.

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Conclusion
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Cypher is an understated, yet classy and ingenious futuristic Sci-Fi thriller which will keep you hooked from the first minute and will have you peeling away layer after layer desperately trying to decipher the hidden meanings to the film. With a great performance by Jeremy Northam and a stunning production which is an absolute delight to the senses this film is a must see.

Summary: An ingenious Sci-Fi thriller which will keep you guessing from the word go