The Null Device

Cypher

This evening, I went to see Cypher, the recent film from Canadian director Vincenzo Natali (who also did Cube). The story was standard noir spy-thriller fare, with deceptions, double-crosses and deeper games, only set in the world of high-tech corporate espionage. The sets and visuals were starkly spectacular; while it was set across a much wider world than Cube, it had a similar feel. There were lots of greys, washed-out colours, and backlit sets, and a good number of sci-fi props for good measure. (Though some parts of it -- the helicopter, for one -- look a bit too obviously computer generated.) Parts of it (the conference sequence in particular, with its juxtaposition of the workaday and fantastic) recalled the work of another edgy Canadian director, David Cronenberg.

With the title and high-tech setting, there will be inevitable comparisons to the Matrix films. The key difference (other than the budget) is that Cypher is a more psychological film; whereas the Matrix' characters move like characters in a Greek drama, motivated to illustrate philosophical points and give the audience a high-tech thrill ride, the protagonist of Cypher seems to be more of a complete human being, though one apparently out of his depth in a claustrophobic nightmare world, which makes it more compelling.

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