Dark City 1998 Film Starring Rufus Sewell
A Man Realises the City Around him is one Giant Experiment
Oct 23, 2009
Dark City is a 1998 science fiction film starring Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, William Hurt and Jennifer Connelly. It was directed by Alex Proyas (who also directed The Crow). The film did not perform well at the box office, however, it has developed a significant cult following and was one of the inspirations for The Matrix.
A City Trapped in Eternal Night
Dark City begins with a voice over in which Dr. Daniel Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland) explains that the city is under the control of a sinister group called the Strangers (in the director’s cut this introduction is removed in order to add more mystery to the beginning of the film). A man (Sewell) wakes up in the bath with no memory of who he is or how he got there. He discovers a body in the next room and runs from the scene.
The man is in a hotel and learns that his name is Murdoch. He is married but it seems that his wife Emma (Connelly) recently had an affair which resulted in him leaving her. Schreber contacts Murdoch to tell him that ‘they’ are coming for him. As he runs Murdoch discovers that everyone falls asleep at midnight and the city changes. People’s memories are altered, and when the population wakes up they have no idea that they had fallen asleep or that anything is different.
Murdoch struggles to discover what is happening as the Strangers pursue him, and so does police inspector Frank Bumstead (William Hurt) who believes him to be responsible for a series of brutal murders. The city remains locked in permanent darkness, the night never ends, and Murdoch unravels the mysteries of the world around him. He learns through Schreber that he has developed the Strangers’ ability to change the city, (a power they call tuning) and may be able to defeat them once and for all.
Cult Film Worthy of Recognition
Dark City is an original slice of science fiction in which the audience learns some of the mysteries surrounding the city but is left to speculate on others. Part of the Strangers’ experiment is whether someone is more than the sum of their memories, if someone has the memories of a murderer will they continue to kill? The best films are ones in which the audience will question their own perceptions and makes them wonder if their memories were erased or altered, would they be the same person or become someone new?
Dark City was produced in 1998 and filmed at Fox Studios, the same studio in which The Matrix was filmed a year later. Dark City could almost be called a prequel to The Matrix because there are a number of striking similarities. In Dark City Schreber acts a kind of mentor to Murdoch, telling him that he can tune and is able to take control of the Strangers' machines bending them to his will. Something that Murdoch does not initially believe. In The Matrix Morpheus believes that Neo has power of the machines' system, and can take control of the matrix which is something that Neo initially does not believe.
Dark City is an excellent slice of science fiction, CGI is used sparingly and the Strangers are pale skinned and look very creepy. Some of the mysteries of the city are revealed but most are not, and in the end the audience is left to speculate on what happens after the credits role.
The cast are all on top form; however, Kiefer Sutherland fans may wish that his character would stop taking a breath mid-sentence and just talk properly. Still, considering that his speech is part of the horrific past the character has endured, he can be forgiven for being a little short of breath.
9/10
Dark City is a film that deserves more recognition than it has, and any self-respecting sci-fi fan that hasn’t seen it should drop everything and watch it immediately.
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