Lenny "the loser" Nero (Ralph Fiennes) is an ex-cop who now sells recordings of people's memories (porn mostly) that he has people make for him using this "playback" device. This device was created for good and made it's way on to the black market. Lenny's life changes when a playback disc is left for him, and on it is the murder of his friend/prostitute. Now, Lenny and his good friend Lornette "Mace" Mason (Angela Bassett) have to try and solve this case that ends up being bigger than just a random murder. The entire movie takes place December 30th 1999 to January 1st 2000 in Los Angeles, CA.
My Verdict
Angela Bassett is in this and that's enough for me to watch! The film took almost an hour to get to the point of Lenny finding the disc and that was a little too long for me. I almost stopped watching but I'm glad I didn't because when it got to that point is escalated quickly. The movie really takes you a crazy twisty turny ride. By the end of it I was saying "that was a trip, that took me on a trip!" I loved it.
Now there's always a deeper message in films like this and I saw two. The first was the LAPD and their police brutality. The whole time there was this 'police aren't our friends' vibe. I mean, it wasn't even a thought to take the disc of the murder to the police. I'll talk more on this with specifics in the spoilers section below.
The other deeper message I saw was reality v. playback/fantasy. Lenny spends half of his time watching old discs of his old life and the other half of his time getting discs and selling them. He's basically addicted to playback. On the other hand, his friend Mace will have nothing to do with playback. She's never watched and when she does, it's because she has to. She's there to help Lenny face reality. She is reality.
I'm giving this movie an 8/10. The beginning was a bit slow but, thankfully, it sped up. I didn't see the ending coming at all! I was completely shocked. The ending was one where you think it's over but more great stuff keeps happening and I love those.
Also, Angela Bassett kicked some major but in this film. It was also directed by a woman and that makes me very happy.
Spoilers
Okay so let's go back to the LAPD stuff. It really reminded me of Rodney King when the two police officers killed that rapper, for no reason, and the way the cops were beating Mace at the end. It gave off this vibe of that time when the police were the enemy, mostly by the way it was shot. There were many bird's eye view shots, like helicopter cameras looking down at all this mayhem in the streets. Also, the cop ended up being the murderer. If that doesn't scream "cops are bad" than I don't know what does.
I also like the ending when the cop was charging at Mace and Lenny with all the blood on his. It was crazy but I really liked the look of it.
Lastly, Lenny and Mace's kiss. Usually, I don't like it when movies are action packed all throughout and then get all romantic at the end, but I liked this. You just knew it was going to happen so you're just waiting for it. And when it did happen, it was like the ending of 'The Bodyguard.' Just great.
If you've seen this movie, let me know what you thought in the comments below.
IMDB page, Pic credit
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