Dark City

When I first got Dark City I thought it would be like many films of the Sci-Fi/DRAMA genre. I was pleasantly surprised. It was in some ways very simplistic but that was a cover as most things were in this movie. The plot involves aliens performing mind game experiments on a city full of humans. How far this experiment had gone is one of the surprises in the end. The cast is well chosen for this film. Kiefer Sutherland as the betraying doctor speaks in a odd, hesitant manner that at first gets on the nerves but later helps define the character. Rufus Sewell is perfect as the everyman that is able to step out of the mind control of the aliens and work to discover the secrets of his identity and what is going on. The role of Jennifer Connelly as the wife is a bit flimsy but she is always an addition to any scene. While the story is not as neatly resolved as many would hope for, life rarely supplies all the answers. The commentary is very helpful. There is one Roger Ebert and another by director Alex Proyas. There is also material comparing Dark City to the classic silent film, Metropolis including reviews by a film critic of 1927 and by H.G. Wells. The sound is clear in most spots but I did have to replay some scenes with the subtitles on to understand some plot points. The video was a bit faulty especially exhibiting some discoloration of black during the many dark scenes. Part film noir, part Sci-Fi. If you like both of those genres you may enjoy this one. If not might be best to move on to another choice