In the new Canadian sci-fi film Cube, we witness a forced return to a guerilla style of filmmaking unseen since the penny-pinching days of Hollywood style B-Grade schlock. This movie has, so to speak, got it all: a minimal cast, one set, suspect actors. All the things that you thought had been passed over in this age of computer ingenuity`are now back, and expressive of a masochistic cinematic intent. Yes folks, this film makes you suffer for your entertainment.
The story is simple, and filling half my review with a dull synopsis will only insult our delicate readership. Why are these people here? Is there a grander structure, a higher intelligence at play here? Is it the government or the weather? The movie openly rejects explaining its story (i.e. why these people, what is the point, what is their goal?) and prefers a coy refusal of ordering devices. Into your left ear it might whisper: No, there isn't more to this than there first appears. What you see is what you get. The film refuses the audience the expected contrivances, and finally destroys any notion of what an "audience-pleasing" film does. It's primarily about clever conceits and penny pinching. In a classic tradition of cinema, these characters are here for our simple enjoyment, the cube being a handy all purpose metaphor for cinema, the director as architect, a creator of futile situations...
All the great 50s sci-fi flicks relied on sustained conceits or good scripts to overcome their obvious defects, but Cube does not reach this exceptional state. Perhaps its the preview, which gives away a great bulk of the plot twists and special effects. Perhaps its the fact that the mind has a great deal of time to wander in this limited cinematic space, and is therefore more likely to find the gaps in logic. We also lose interest in most of the characters quite quickly, for despite some interesting performances, they are stereotypes. There is Mr. Silent and Moody, the bleeding heart liberal, the geeky maths genius, the psychotic cop. It seems I've been in this cube before as well.
The film succeeds, yet in a perverse way. It irritates us and at times openly betrays us, yet we feel the claustrophobia,
weariness and futility of the scenario. What kind of aim is this? If you want an exhausting yet profound cinema experience, hunt out any Cassavetes film. If you want intelligent sci-fi, the literary realm is probably a better place to start, yet Cronenberg is acceptable if you are willing to stretch your definition of sci-fi. Cube ends up being, in criticese, not much of anything.
(If I could only escape from this critics cube, then I may be be able to get this review out into the light. If I run into Margaret Pomeranz one more time I'm going to kill myself. Note to all the cinephiles of Sydney: this years theme is hype, a lack of talent and commercial repetition. See you at Tropfest.)
adam rivett
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