Page 46 - Metro
P. 46
Dark City excites, tantalises and perplexes in equal measure. Peel
back the surreal imagery and gallery of weird characters, and the
ÁPQ WXVMOIW E WYVTVMWMRKP] VIWSRERX IQSXMSREP GLSVH ¬ QYGL PMOI [I
are, John is scratching through the shadows to uncover who he is.
but shot as though enormous and oppressive in scope – 'UDYHQ SOD\HG E\ /HH ULVLQJ IURP WKH JUDYH WR DYHQJH KLV
creating an omnipresent sense of the cityscape closing in DQG KLV ĺDQFÆHpV PXUGHUV
on itself. For its detective lead, the Humphrey Bogart–like Proyas recalls that developing #@QJ "HSX’s screenplay
Frank Bumstead (William Hurt), there is no respite, his ZDV WKH ĺUVW FULWLFDO KXUGOH
days spent investigating a series of murders committed
WKURXJKRXW WKH FLW\ 1RU LV WKHUH HVFDSH IRU WKH PDQ KH LV !DXNMC SG@S HMHSH@K AQ@HMRSNQLHMF OQNBDRR @MC VQHSHMF SGD
SXUVXLQJ -RKQ 0XUGRFK 5XIXV 6HZHOO ZKR KDV VHHP kQRS EDV CQ@ESR HS VDMS SGQNTFG m &NC GDKO LD m RSTCHN CD-
LQJO\ ORVW KLV PHPRU\ WKH VWDNHV DUH UDWFKHWHG XS DV KH UDKNOLDMS :w< 2NLD NE VGHBG V@R SN SGD CDSQHLDMS NE SGD
faces the very real possibility that he may be the serial RSNQX ATS RNLD NE HS :V@R< PTHSD FNNC HM SG@S HS ENQBDC LD
killer responsible for the crimes. SN S@JD SGD M@QQ@SHUD HMSN @ LNQD KHMD@K CHQDBSHNM m HM E@BS
#@QJ "HSX is steeped in a melange of artistic and literary @ŭKNS LNQD KHMD@K @MC BNGDRHUD ENQ @ L@HMRSQD@L @TCHDMBD
LQĻXHQFHV t 7DUNRYVN\ %XÎXHO SXOS VFL ĺ QRYHOV *HRUJH
Orwell’s dystopian classic -HMDSDDM $HFGSX %NTQ – with the $ORQJVLGH FR ZULWHUV /HP 'REEV DQG JHQUH VSHFLDOLVW
ZULWHU GLUHFWRU KDYLQJ SRVLWLRQHG KLV ĺOP RQ WKH REVFXUH 'DYLG 6 *R\HU 3UR\DV WKHQ VKDSHG WKH ODE\ULQWKLQH VWRU\
peripheries of cinema: into something with a more conventional structure. ‘It went
through many studios,’ says Proyas.
/GHKHO * #HBJ R HM SGDQD RNLDVGDQD SNN @MC SGD LNRS AH-
Y@QQD RSTEE VDMS HMSN SGD LHWHMF ONS :w< ,X NVM CQD@LR @S (MHSH@KKX 3NTBGRSNMD ( SGHMJ HS V@R VGHBG HR @M @QL NE #HRMDX
SGD SHLD ENTMC SGDHQ V@X HMSN SGD RSNQX KNS NE LX NSGDQ 3GDM HS VDMS SGQNTFG %NW 3GDM HS VDMS SN -DV +HMD m @MC
HMlTDMBDR DLDQFDC m RODBHkB@KKX @ KNS NE KHSDQ@QX RBHDMBD ( kM@KKX FNS SN L@JD HS VHSG -DV +HMD !TS SGD HMHSH@K LDDSHMFR
kBSHNM :w< ( SGHMJ SG@S R VG@S F@UD HS SGD AHY@QQD PT@KHSX HS G@R @ANTS SGD RBQHOS @S #HRMDX VDQD PTHSD AHY@QQD V@KJHMF HMSN @
ATHKCHMF HM 'NKKXVNNC SG@S G@R SGD RDUDM CV@QER B@QUDC NTS
But it wasn’t until after 3GD "QNVpV ER[ RIĺFH VXFFHVV t NE RSNMD NM SGD E@B@CD @MC S@KJHMF @ANTS SGD D@QKX CQ@ESR NE
the only cache worth a damn in cynical Hollywood, Proyas 'DUN &LW\ V@R PTHSD @ ODBTKH@Q DWODQHDMBD
ODPHQWV t WKDW KLV oEL]DUUHp VFL ĺ ZRXOG VHH WKH OLJKW RI GD\
$ *RWKLF DFWLRQ URPDQFH EDVHG RQ -DPHV 2p%DUUpV WUDJLF In #@QJ "HSXpV ĺUVW VFHQH -RKQ DZDNHQV LQ D EDWKWXE
partly autobiographical comics of the same name, 3GD "QNV water murky from the blood of a naked sex worker lying
LV LPEXHG ZLWK WKH PHODQFKRO\ UDJH RI LWV SURWDJRQLVW (ULF GHDG LQ KLV GDQN GDUN KRWHO URRP /LNH KLV FKDUDFWHU
44 • Metro Magazine 195 | © ATOM