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(1995) rated: Director: Terry Gilliam Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, David Morse, and Christopher Plummer. Synopsis: Review: Time travel theories are notoriously tricky, and films often employ them with disasterous results, but 12 Monkeys avoids these problems with a clear, logical approach that serves its story well (see below for a more detailed discussion of time travel in 12 Monkeys). What's interesting about the time travelers in this movie is they are sent back to observe, not change, the past in order to help the future. As with most time travel stories, there are lots of twists and turns, but 12 Monkeys is never hard to follow, nor is it overly complex. Naturally, 12 Monkeys takes place in several different time periods, most notably 1990 and 1996, times preceding the deadly virus's release. All the time periods exhibit Gilliam's grim vision, full of foreboding objects and brooding atmosphere (similar to his previous directorial outings like Brazil or Time Bandits). The set design and cinematography are as compelling as the script, and the three represent the main strengths of the film. Which isn't to say that the acting in 12 Monkeys is in any way sub-par. Bruce Willis turns in one of his best performances (it helps that he's given three dimensions to work with), and seems to have a good chemistry with Madeline Stowe, who plays the skeptical but open-minded Dr. Kathryn Railly well. Of special note is the scene-stealing Brad Pitt, who plays Jeffrey Goines, an intermittent mental patient and the son of Nobel prize-winning virologist Dr. Leland Goines. Jeffrey is also an animal rights activist who formed an organization called The Army of the 12 Monkeys. They spray painted their logo, an eerie red emblem, all over the place with the words "We did it" written beneath. Naturally, the authorities in the future want to investigate this, as Jeffrey has access to his father's resources. Pitt's over-the-top performance is especially entertaining to watch (he goes on to play Tyler Durden in David Fincher's Fight Club with similar gusto), though it is perhaps derivative of Jack Nicholson's previous work (as well as Dennis Hopper's journalist from Apocalypse Now). 12 Monkeys is thoughtful and entertaining filmmaking at its best. It doesn't spell everything out for you, and is often vague and subtle, but it's never difficult to understand. Best of all, it makes you think, which is something of a rarity these days... Time Travel Overview:
Technically, we are all time travelers, but we are only able to travel in one direction (forward), and only at one continious
speed. In 12 Monkeys though, James Cole (among others) is able to travel back in time. It is important to note, however, that
in 12 Monkeys time is still linear; 1990 always comes before 1996, and nothing can change that. The time travelers don't travel
back in time to change history because they already are a part of history. They are there only to observe, and to bring back
information that will help in the future.
Given the obtuse way in which time travel is portayed in the film, you could interpret it in different ways. For instance, it's possible that Cole (or any other traveler, for that matter) creates temporal disturbances every time he travels back, and thus creates multiple timelines. However, since those in the future are unaware of their past, and they are sending people back simply to discover it, the only history they can discover is the one which they have created. Though this is an interesting theory, I prefer the linearity theory better, as it seems less prone to the dangers of paradox. It is tempting to say that the film's time linearity creates the ironic but acceptable paradox that is present in the first Terminator film, where the act of time travel itself was necessary to create the future in which the traveler is coming from. I think 12 Monkeys deliberatly plays off of our expectations to make the story more suspenseful, but in the end, I don't think this was true. From my perspective, all the meddling that Cole does in the past does not actually serve to create the future from whence he came, though we are, at times, led to believe so. The time travel device used in the movie is never shown, nor are the specifics of time travel. This was done to avoid some of the pitfalls of time travel stories, but also, more importantly, to emphasize the disorientation felt by the time travelers to the audience. Though not specifically referenced, it is clear that there have been many other travelers, but since none of the "volunteers" ever seem to return, we can deduce that the process places a great deal of stress on the travelers, particularly their pysche (the subsequent events of the film confirm this). What is known about the time travel device is that its inventors don't have perfect control over it, as Cole is often sent back to the wrong time and/or place, sometimes by significant margains (at one point in the film, Cole finds himself in the trenches of France during WWI). The operators are apparently unable to confirm what date the traveler has been sent to. The traveler can also be retrieved, seemingly at will, perhaps with the help of crude tracking devices that are embedded in the traveler's teeth. Discussion: • Why does Doctor Railly always feel like she recognized Cole? When Railly meets with Cole after she dyed her hair and he had his fake wig and moustache, why does she say, "This is how I remember you?" • Why doesn't the young James Cole get the virus at the Airport? • Does 12 Monkeys adequately solve the paradoxes inherrent in a time travel story? Trivia: • Apparently, Gilliam gave Willis a list of "Willis acting clichés" not to be used during the film, including the "steely blue eyes look". According to Premiere magazine, Gilliam also told Willis: "This will only work if you do not smirk. Can you do a movie without that smirk?" (thanks etouffee) • The scenes in the insane asylum were shot in Eastern State Penitentiary, a historic Philadelphia prison that was closed in 1971. • There are a great deal of Alfred Hitchcock references in the film, specifically to Vertigo though other films (like The Birds) are referenced. • The revolver that Cole is handed at the end is a Cavalry Model Le Mat, as used by the Confederacy during the American Civil War. • Director Terry Gilliam, as usual, had to fight with the Hollywood studios to make sure the film kept its artistic integrity. He was quoted as saying: "It's a hippototamus and they wanna turn it into a giraffe because giraffes are popular this year. And it ain't gonna be a giraffe, it's only gonna be a really deformed hippopotamus at best." Links & Sources: • Comprehensive Guide to 12 Monkeys • Headquarters of the 12 Monkeys • La Jetee vs. 12 Monkeys : A comparison of the two films • 12 Monkeys Time Travel : An analysis of time travel in 12 Monkeys Recommended: Fight Club Delicatessen The City of Lost Children The Store: 12 Monkeys (VHS) 12 Monkeys (Widescreen VHS) 12 Monkeys (Soundtrack CD) |
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