Dark City Review

What makes human beings unique? Are we just a collection of memories? And if so can those memories be trusted? These are just some of the questions raised in the highly underrated sci fi classic Dark City. When most people think of a big sci fi movie that makes us question our reality, first thoughts come to The Matrix. But Dark City came out a year before The Matrix, and deals with the themes in a more satisfying way. The film follows John Murdoch, played by Rufus Sewell. Murdoch awakens in a bathtub with total amnesia and the body of a murdered woman in his hotel room. He is pursued by the police and a group of mysterious men in black, in city where nothing is as it seems. The night never ends and the men in black, called the strangers, are controlling everything and everyone in the city.

First off, this is a gorgeously shot movie, every shot feels like it was done with extreme care and attention to detail.The city where the story takes place in has the feel of a classic American city like New York or Chicago, but it also gives a claustrophobic feeling. The city feels like a prison of which there is no escape. The viewer is given this feeling through the eyes of our protagonist John Murdoch. Like Murdoch the audience doesn’t know what is going on, and learns as Murdoch unfolds the mystery of his memory. It is for this reason if you have never seen the film, do not watch the theatrical cut, watch the directors cut. The theatrical cut begins with a voiceover that essentially spoils the mystery Murdoch is trying to solve. The directors cut puts the audience in the same shoes as…