Austrian novelist Franz Kafka would probably applaud "Crow" director Alex Proyas' "Dark City," an eerie science-fiction murder-mystery where aliens decked out in black leather outfits treat humans like laboratory specimens. Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, and Kiefer Sutherland headline a compelling cast. "Dark City" relies heavily on hypnotic visuals, atmospheric cinematography, and agile editing to bolster its puzzling plot. Happily, unlike the muddled theatrical version, Proyas' director's cut far surpasses his earlier edit in its depth, clarity, and spectacle. For the record, "Dark City" appeared a year before "The Matrix" revolutionized cinematic sci-fi. Nevertheless, the two films share common themes about the dignity and identity of mankind. Comparatively, "Dark City" evokes memories of Orson Welles' 1963 classic "The Trial," based on Kafka's novel. An innocent man (Anthony Perkins) awakens one morning to find himself accused of an unknown crime he didn't commit in what amounts to a police state. Kafka serves merely as an aesthetic departure point for "Dark City." After establishing its metaphorical bond with Kafka, "Dark City" blunders off on a tangent.
Despite its stunning technical virtuosity, "Dark City" frustrates anyone who scrutinizes its eye-popping style for a modicum of substance. Proyas' cinematic effort delivers few fresh ideas with its contrived, low-brow saga about humanity, individuality, and alien mind control. Worse, most of the ideas and imagery cobbled together in this predictable futuristic opus came from more entertaining movies. Suffice to say, "Dark City" contains more kaka than Kafka.
"Dark City" unravels gradually as a paranoia yarn. Rufus Sewell of "Dangerous Beauty" plays a nondescript nobody who emerges as the savior of Proyas' brooding potboiler. Waking up in a dingy bathtub in a strange hotel, John Murdoch (Sewell) finds blood seeping from his forehead. Suffering from amnesia, Murdoch stumbles onto the naked corpse of a slain hooker. No sooner has Murdoch gathered his wits than he receives a sudden phone call from creepy Dr. Schreiber (Kiefer Sutherland of "Young Guns"). Murdoch discovers that the police have tapped him as the prime suspect in a number of call girl murders. Eluding an ominous gang of knife-wielding alien fiends, our hero embarks on a search for his identity.
Murdoch confronts a grave new world where the sun never shines. Everything grinds to a spooky halt every night at midnight. As it turns out, a bizarre cabal of aliens has been secretly experimenting with humans. They want to see how humans react to a variety of different circumstances. They change the memories of these poor beggars as if their minds were Rubik's cubes. These cryptic villains are called 'Strangers.' This pale, cadaverous, mob dresses alike in long, black leather, Gestapo coats and dark hats to conceal their white cue ball heads. Not only does sunlight irritate them, but they also abhor moisture.
We're told by the mad scientist narrator that the 'Strangers' are as old as time. They travel great distances by levitation. Endowed with the power to alter physical reality by a telepathic process called 'tuning,' these dour 'Strangers' can create doors in walls where no portals existed. Visually, their power is depicted as a slinky-like series of transparent concentric circles rippling out from the center of their foreheads. Oddly enough, these 'Strangers' are dying. All men and one boy, they are convinced their survival lies with mankind. Before they can achieve their goal, these 'Strangers' must deduce what makes mankind 'human.' The 'Strangers' have abducted humans and taken them to a world they have created to figure out what makes mankind tick.
First, the filmmakers provide less than sensational heroics in the various skirmishes between Murdock and the aliens. "Dark City" fails to thrill because the leads are never in jeopardy. Moreover, when characters find themselves in danger, the challenge has a muted quality. The climactic 'tuning' battle between Mr. Book (Ian Richardson of "Man of La Mancha") and Murdoch generates a violent light show. Second, too many characters clutter up the film! Inspector Frank Bumstead, a supporting character who is clearly more interesting than Murdoch, should have been the hero. Further, the filmmakers should have combined Bumstead's role with the insane victim cop, Eddie Walenski (Colin Friels of "Darkman"). Their synthesized characters would have made a more exciting hero. Third, we're never told how the hero acquired his ability to 'tune.' This is a pretty serious flaw because 'tuning' makes Murdock equal to his enemies. Worse, Dr. Schreiber has no idea either, and he is the guy who concocted the stuff that he injects into the foreheads of the humans with his baroque syringes. Fourth, "Dark City" suffers because the filmmakers refuse to tell us enough about these enigmatic 'Strangers.' They are a cryptic bunch who are reminiscent of Uncle Fester of "The Adams Family" and Clive Barker's Pin-Head.
William Hurt of "The Big Chill" appears as a hard-boiled, accordion-playing detective determined to capture Murdoch. Wasted in a subordinate role, Hurt has little chance to develop anything more than a sketchy character. While it's always a pleasure to watch the eloquent Hurt, his cop character receives deplorable treatment. "Dark City" consigns sexy Jennifer Connelly to the cosmetic role of the damsel-in-distress. Murdoch eventually saves her from the clutches of the Strangers. Connelly and Sewell generate few sparks as lovers. She spends most of her screen time doing unremarkable things.
Droopy-eyed Kiefer Sutherland chews the scenery as a stereotypical Dr. Moreau geneticist with a Peter Lorre sneer. He sports quirky clothes, adopts an accent, and shuffles rather than walks. As one of the movie's chief characters, Dr. Schreiber strikes neither a villainous nor a heroic posture. He mixes and matches genes in lab test tubes to forge new identities and memories. Proyas generates an air of mystery, but this genre has been so overdone that "Dark City" illuminates nothing more than its own shortcomings. Skip the theatrical cut and go with the director's cut.
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