Twelve Monkey’s
Plot
In an unknown year in the future, James Cole a prisoner – is given the opportunity for full pardon, if he travels back in time to 1996 to stop the deadly virus that killed 99% of the population – and putting the rest of mankind deep underground away from the poisonous air.
However he is sent to 1990 instead, and finds himself under the guardianship of psychiatrist Dr Kathryn Railly. Can he get her to believe him?
Direction
Solid direction by famed auteur Terry Gillam. While embarrassingly this is my first Gilliam film that I’ve both watched and reviewed, I quite enjoyed some of his stylistic approach to shots, and genre.
His versioon of the future has a dystopian, almost industrial feel to it – peoople are now forced to live underground.
I also loved his use of Deep focus, which is present in scenes within the underground future, and at times in the first act when Cole finds himself in a mental institute.
Cast/Characters
All the cast are solid, especially that of the lead Bruce Willis as Cole. He shows great depth of range that he was so good at prior to his ill health. Two moments that stick out are when he first meets Dr Railly and he is seemingly having a ‘breakdown’, and later in the car when he is almost in tears over hearing 20th century songs.
Brad Pitt, who earned his first Oscar nod, is equally as impressive as Jeffrey Goines a mental patient, who may be responsible for the release of the virus in 1996. His performance is pretty spectacular, and I’ve always said I really enjoy him as an actor – and here he proves his talent, and why he is such a leading man today.
Madeline Stowe is sound as the female protagonist, but I found aspects of her arc problematic. Christopher Plummer is underused as Goines’ father (and has a rather off putting Southern accent).
Screenplay/Setting/Themes
I liked the time travel paradox that this film brings up; that we can’t change the past, we can only learn from it. That is why characters don’t flat out stop the virus from being released, instead try to change what occurs in the future because of it (which is why we see a ‘tertiary’ character on the plane at the end of the film).
There are some suggestions that Cole might actually be living in a warped reality and that the future is just his imagination. While this is an argument of things like reddit and discussion boards, I never really felt that this was something, and always felt that he was indeed sent back in time.
There was an odd moment in the middle of the film, where we believed Cole murdered Railly, and a body was found, yet minutes later she is seen alive and well. This just felt like a forced ‘red herring’ that really didn’t go anywhere.
I didn’t really care for the Railly/Cole relationship, and how it progressed to an almost romantic one. This felt too forced, and “90s”. It would have worked better if this did not occur.
Score/Screenplay
I loved the ‘carnival/festival’ type score by Paul Buckmaster.
Overall
Different take on the time travel type films, where the past can be altertered, and instead here be learned and studied. The ‘time loop’ ending for Cole is actually fairly saddening, to think he will go on this loop forever.
You can find our podcast on your favourite app where we discuss this movie.
I’ve also decided to change my rating after second thought, and my new rating is…
3.5/5
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