"10 Cloverfield Lane" Will Leave You Questioning Everything
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| 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) |
In case you've forgotten, or like me have the habit of purposefully neglecting any and all films in the found-footage genre, in 2008 there was a film called Cloverfield. Cloverfield was a mediocre found-footage film which focused on a party in New York city that is interrupted by an enormous monster destroying the city. It wasn't anything special, though it wasn't particularly bad either. Naturally, it fell victim to the traditional flaws that are inherent in the found-footage genre: shaky camera bad enough to cause nausea, sounds obviously added in post-production, awkward acting, and the implied spoiler that every character within the movie is probably going to die because that's why the footage was found and not willingly released by the imagined filmmaker.
It's been quite some time since I watched Cloverfield, because it isn't really the sort of movie that warrants a second watch due to the fact that its popularity stemmed from the novelty of the found-footage genre, which was still brand new and had only recently been popularized by the Blair Witch Project. However, I remember enough to know that it was decent and it was certainly interesting to have a first-person perspective of a citizen as a monster attacks a city (though Pacific Rim did it much better in a single scene, proving itself to be an almost perfect monster movie).
10 Cloverfield Lane is, aside from the name, something else entirely. It centers around a young woman who, after a car crash, wakes up held captive by a man portrayed fantastically by John Goodman. He insists that there is radiation outside, radiation which will immediately kill anyone who walks out into the open air. From that point onward the film launches into a constant guessing game and fantastic mystery as the audience is left wondering just how truthful John Goodman's character is truly being, and whether or not Emmett, the other character living in John Goodman's bunker, is actually trustworthy like you desperately hope he is.
Despite the fact that the film takes place mostly in one location it manages to have your adrenaline pumping from start to finish as our protagonist lives in the bunker and nervously navigates conversations with her captor which consist of constantly metaphorically walking on eggshells. Another positive aspect of the film is the fact that it is consistent with its character's traits from beginning to end. Our protagonist is depicted as innovative and her ability to fashion quick tools and ways to get out of trouble is deemed a legitimate part of her character rather than a trait she gains at the last minute to hastily slip out of harm's way in the film's climax.
Admittedly, this is a difficult film to discuss without spoiling, but I insist that it's absolutely phenomenal and that if you haven't seen it yet you should see it at once, it's a rollercoaster from beginning to end and you certainly won't regret watching it.
It's been quite some time since I watched Cloverfield, because it isn't really the sort of movie that warrants a second watch due to the fact that its popularity stemmed from the novelty of the found-footage genre, which was still brand new and had only recently been popularized by the Blair Witch Project. However, I remember enough to know that it was decent and it was certainly interesting to have a first-person perspective of a citizen as a monster attacks a city (though Pacific Rim did it much better in a single scene, proving itself to be an almost perfect monster movie).
10 Cloverfield Lane is, aside from the name, something else entirely. It centers around a young woman who, after a car crash, wakes up held captive by a man portrayed fantastically by John Goodman. He insists that there is radiation outside, radiation which will immediately kill anyone who walks out into the open air. From that point onward the film launches into a constant guessing game and fantastic mystery as the audience is left wondering just how truthful John Goodman's character is truly being, and whether or not Emmett, the other character living in John Goodman's bunker, is actually trustworthy like you desperately hope he is.
Despite the fact that the film takes place mostly in one location it manages to have your adrenaline pumping from start to finish as our protagonist lives in the bunker and nervously navigates conversations with her captor which consist of constantly metaphorically walking on eggshells. Another positive aspect of the film is the fact that it is consistent with its character's traits from beginning to end. Our protagonist is depicted as innovative and her ability to fashion quick tools and ways to get out of trouble is deemed a legitimate part of her character rather than a trait she gains at the last minute to hastily slip out of harm's way in the film's climax.
Admittedly, this is a difficult film to discuss without spoiling, but I insist that it's absolutely phenomenal and that if you haven't seen it yet you should see it at once, it's a rollercoaster from beginning to end and you certainly won't regret watching it.
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