Flatliners (1990)
Director: Joel Schumacher
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Medical school student Nelson Wright (Sutherland) is so obsessed with research into the near-death experience that he recruits four friends, and they take turns at stopping their hearts until the monitors reading their vital signs indicate nothing but flat lines. Once revived by other members of the team, armed with their new-found knowledge they set about rectifying past misdeeds. Schumacher's aggressive direction sweeps across weird panoramas and dives headlong into terrifying memories. We're in mystical territory here, hence the flamboyant visuals; but that's no excuse for Peter Filardi's affected script, which culminates in Bacon railing against the heavens, fists and feet flying. There's also a sorry lack of restraint from production designer Eugenio Zanetti, whose other-worldly atmosphere reaches its apotheosis in Sutherland's all-white apartment, which contains only one piece of furniture (a bed, of course).Author: CM
Cast & crew
Director: Joel Schumacher
Producer: Michael Douglas, Rick Bieber
Cast: Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt, Kimberly Scott full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 114 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Jackson's This Is It: review
Kenny Ortega's posthumous concert film is a rousing eulogy for one of pop's great enigmas
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'
Danish director Lone Scherfig was an unlikely choice for a very English affair like 'An Education'. Cath Clarke meets her
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now