| The
Review: |
"Here was
my first story on the topic of: Am I a human? Or am I just
programmed to believe I am human? When you consider that I
wrote this back in 1953, it was, if I may say so, a pretty
damn good new idea in sf. Of course, by now I've done it to
death. But the theme still preoccupies me. It's an important
theme because it forces us to ask: What is a human? And --
what isn't." -- Philip K. Dick *** When Philip K. Dick wrote
"The Impostor" in 1953, the United States was at the height
of McCarthyism, when communism was a great threat to our government,
who, in turn, sought to weed out those in favor of the communist
ideals. His short story is very much like that dark period
in our nation's history, employing the same premise with a
science fiction twist. His many works have made their way
to the silver screen in the past decades, with such futuristic
extravaganzas as "Total Recall" and "Blade Runner," and even
still keep popping up here and there as time moves on. ***
And now
we have "Impostor," a movie which seems to capture the essence
of the above quote by Dick with its all-too-familiar territory.
At the time of its publication, the story could be looked
at as fresh and inviting; as a movie in the new millennium,
when the science fiction genre has become one of the most
repetitive and redundant of all movie types, it seems like
another run-of-the-mill futuristic thriller with lots of running
that treads on the notion of whether or not its main character
is who he says he is. ***
And yet,
the film's plot is still just as intriguing as the story on
which it is based. Set in 2079, where Earth is in constant
battle with the alien race Centauri, the planet is little
more than a war zone, where dome-protected cities are surrounded
by endless vistas of devastated wastelands. Living in one
of these cold, metallic communities is Spencer John Olham
(Gary Sinise), a weapons specialist who is hunted down by
the Earth Security Agency and accused of being a member of
the Centauri. Despite his reassurance that he is being falsely
targeted, the E.S.A. continues with their plan to extract
the bomb supposedly hidden within Spencer's heart, at which
point he breaks free and becomes a fugitive out to prove his
innocence. ***
Had "The
Impostor" been made into a film in earlier years, it may have
been a bigger success. I think the failure of this movie to
generate much interest in audiences stems from the well-worn
paths that thrillers and the sci-fi genre have trodden even
before the publication of Dick's story. The accusations made
against Spencer, as well as his plight to prove himself to
authorities, can de linked directly to "The Fugitive," while
aliens who infiltrate Earth by posing as humans was done years
ago in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Those not well acquainted
with the short story or the author's works will find themselves
at a loss. ***
But, for
those of us who have experienced "Impostor" with a knowledge
of the author's themes and tactics, the film takes on a much
bigger challenge of effectively creating the sense of paranoia
and intensity so lovingly bestowed in the source material.
For the most part, the film succeeds in doing just that, its
futuristic appearance evoking a cold, stony dread that adds
to the sense of claustrophobia as Spencer desperately searches
for proof of his innocence. Settings such as the labyrinthine
hospital, the underground tunnels, the "Star War"-like city
structures, all add to the unease one feels as the story unfolds
its mystery. ***
Director
Gary Fleder, who spun an intricate web in "Kiss the Girls"
and served up serviceable thrills in last year's "Don't Say
A Word," directs the material with a certain degree of energy
needed to keep us involved in the story, while also giving
the central mystery just enough appeal to intrigue us. Gary
Sinise portrays Spencer just as he should be: as a human being
that we come to care about and understand, his performance
enriching the film's question of whether or not he is who
he says, or rather believes, he is. ***
The film's
supporting cast is first-rate, and though much of the film
is spent with Sinise, the performances are worth mentioning.
The vastly-underrated Madeleine Stowe makes an appearance
as Spencer's wife, Maya, convincing us of her grief over being
torn between her husband and the law. Vincent D'Onofrio plays
an E.S.A. agent out to retrieve Spencer with an earnestness
and hardcore approach that is stellar, while Mekhi Phifer's
performance as an outsider who aides Spencer back into the
city is short-lived but commendable. ***
As a result
of the familiar plot devices that are no fault of its own,
"Impostor" doesn't have the edge needed to make it a perfect
movie. But I'd be lying if I said that it weren't an interesting
adaptation of a wonderfully mystifying short story; in truth,
the movie manages to capture the essence of what Dick hoped
to deliver, and does so in a manner that deserves more praise
than it has received.
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| The
Extras |
There's
not much to marvel over in Gary Fleder's "Impostor," but it
does succeed on a relatively entertaining B-movie level. The
DVD, however, falls short of this. "The Impostor Files" is
a five-minute featurette with interviews from director Fleder,
actors Gary Sinise and Madeleine Stowe, and various members
of the special effects team, who discuss the futuristic look
of the film and working it into the story without making it
the sole focus of the audience's attention. This is fine and
all, but then we get the short film, which from the cover
notes sounds like it will be a previous attempt at the story,
but is really just a condensed version of this film.
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