Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in Chicago, plus articles, trailers and more

 

Dark City (1997)

Director: Alex Proyas

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

At midnight the city stops. Citizens black out, transfixed in whatever activity they're engaged in, while all around them 'The Strangers' modify the urban environment, transforming streets and buildings, the fabric of people's lives. When the clock starts again, collective amnesia shrouds the general unease. John Murdoch (Sewell) wakes up to face a murder rap he knows makes no sense. Tipped off by the mysterious Dr Schreber (Sutherland), he evades captures and sets about unearthing his apparently metaphysical pursuers. Proyas' overwrought MTV camera jitters tend to highlight characterisation that's two dimensional even by comic book standards, and the film can't stand the inevitable comparisons with Blade Runner or Brazil. Nevertheless, Murdoch's quandary proves surprisingly engrossing, the art direction is always striking, and unlike most contemporary sci-fi, the movie does risk a cerebral approach, tapping a vein of postmodern paranoia.

Author: TCh

Time Out Film Guide


What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Features

Do overs!

Do overs!

After Race to Witch Mountain, what should Disney remake next?

Gray's anatomy

James Gray wants to push buttons—again.

The next big thing?

Gigantic Releasing tries to rethink indie distribution…without movie theaters.

Red Diva: Lyubov Orlova, First Lady of Soviet Cinema

So you think you can dance, comrade?

Puppet master

Coraline director Henry Selick takes stop-motion animation into 3-D.

Socratic method

Laurent Cantet's approach on the set matches the message of his film.

Wander woman

Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy puts a Bush-era spin on the road movie.

Oscars

Read our interviews with the nominees, our reviews of the nominated films and more.