The Beautiful Mystery Of Sanity
We all go a little mad sometimes. Trying to process the ways of the world can send our cogs in a tailspin - effectively forcing us to question our own existence. In the comfort of our own homes, at our own leisurely pace, there's little cause for concern when we drift into the 'whys' and 'what ifs'. But under pressure, in the midst of a crucial task, perhaps it's best to move forward and push those questions aside - at least until there's a moment to breathe; a moment to reflect.
Recruited for a mission of great importance, convict James Cole is sent to uncover the catalyst for the world's current state. But when he volunteers for the assignment, little is known about the potential psychological effects on the psyche or how they might manifest in an unknown environment.
With a cast like Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeleine Stowe and Christopher Plummer you can't really go too wrong. Not enough? Let's throw David Morse and Christopher Meloni in there too, for good measure. With striking visuals and an even more striking fusion of dialogue, '12 Monkeys' successfully tells a story disjointed by style, yet coherent by narrative. And that's mostly thanks to Terry Gilliam's strong vision and the film that inspired it, 'La Jetée'.
The title sequence seems to spell it all out for you - outlining the mechanism (or in this case, lack of) that motivates our main protagonist. It's not enough to say that this film just excels at creating an interesting premise, for it does so with dream-like sequences and a metaphoric forced perspective, unlike any of Gilliam's other projects. That metaphor represents the size of things - especially living beings - in their most immune and vulnerable states.
The earliest example of this in the film is a Dutch-Angle shot looming over the city, like an imposing giant. The matte paintings are a welcome sight for something made in 1995, and they add to the mystery being unravelled in the first act. The aesthetic will keep your gaze, but you shouldn't let it distract you from missing the exquisite language used throughout. There's a rare musicality to Pitt's performance that you won't find elsewhere and Willis withdraws from his usual macho-comedic theatrics to a more confined and quiet persona, which works wonderfully here.
The main theme is memorable and the score is worth getting your hands on if you can find it. Paul Buckmaster really outdid himself - so much so, that it's outshined anything he's made since. The original soundtrack also contains some pop songs that, although great choices, are really just there to serve a narrative purpose in key scenes. The real draw is Buckmaster's chilling combinations of strings, keys and the leading accordion that bridges everything. The music really is like madness all in itself which, when I envision Buckmaster scrambling around in his studio to compose this, reminds me of something Norman Bates said in Psycho.
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