It’s been a long time since I went to the cinema. It was to see Brave, surrounded by enthralled
children. Last night, full of cinema
withdrawal, I saw Looper which was a much more adult experience. The trailers didn’t promise much. Paranormal Activity 4 which looked scary but
from what I’ve seen of the Paranormal Activity franchise, that piece of
scariness was probably it. Sinister,
which actually looked quite good if I could cope with films of that
nature. Skyfall, boring, boring, boring
and Bullet In The Head which was dripping with testosterone and so macho I
nearly choked on my M&Ms. It made me
a little worried about Looper, if I’m honest.
I needn’t have worried.
Looper is fast paced, gripping and a testament to the writers and
actors. I haven’t left a cinema that exhilarated
since The Dark Knight.
Time travel doesn’t exist yet but it does thirty years in
the future. Outlawed, it is used only by
the big criminals. Bodies are hard to
dispose of in the future, so they take their mark, send them thirty years in
the past where as assassin kills them and disposes of the corpse. These assassins are known as loopers. When their bosses choose to end the
agreement, they send the looper’s older counterpart back to be killed. The looper does the deed, takes the gold
payment and lives out their last thirty years.
This is called closing the loop.
Just the premise alone is enough to get me hot under the
collar. But many a film has an exciting
premise and then falls apart. The worry
with Looper is that it involves time travel which is notoriously difficult to
pull off. Time travel can never be infallible;
there will always be plot holes and parts that just don’t make sense. What the writers of Looper have done is
cleverly disguise these holes until they are barely noticeable. It is only when you wake up the next morning
that they begin to occur to you and by then it’s too late, you’ve already
fallen for the film.
Or maybe this was just me. I woke up with questions but instantly
forgave Looper all of its indiscretions because I enjoyed it so much.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Joe) was unrecognisable. He brilliantly mimicked Willis’ trademark
looks and gestures and so when Bruce Willis (older Joe) makes an appearance,
their performance as one character is flawless.
Bruce Willis gave a performance to remind viewers just what he is
capable of, not just an action hero.
Emily Blunt (Sara) also showed her acting prowess and despite being
introduced fairly late she is a well rounded individual that the viewers can
immediately like and empathise with. On
a side note, keep an eye out for Garret Dillahunt (Bert in Raising Hope).
I admit I was concerned at the beginning. The world in which Joe lives in is gritty,
dark and depressing. It is filled with
poverty, drugs and prostitutes and this, naturally, makes me uneasy. As with all good films that start off with
this uneasiness, my fears were unfounded.
These particular topics were not focused upon and yet were dealt with
the brutality that they deserve.
Ultimately, however, this is a film about love. The love a mother has for her son, a love a
son has for his mother, a love a man has for his wife. Actually, the parental relationship is a key
theme throughout as children are abandoned for a life of drugs and
partying. Even Joe’s boss, played
superbly by Jeff Daniels, is an incarnation of Dickens’ Fagin, a father figure
for the desperate, recruiting young boys and putting a gun in their hands.
There were a couple of aspects that truly blew me away
with this film. Firstly the concept of
meeting ones future self. I loved the
interaction between Gordon-Levitt and Willis and instantly began to wonder what
my future self would make of me now.
These two men are one character and yet they are so different, not only
because people grow and change as they age but because of the different paths
they have taken despite being one and the same.
This is an original concept that allows the viewer to see how decisions
in early life can change everything – where we grow old, the people we love,
our opinions and regrets.
This is cleverly portrayed by these characters being
similar enough for it to be believable that they are the same person but also
differing on enough aspects for the viewer to generate separate opinions on
each.
The other aspect which left me wide eyed and in awe was
Pierce Gagnon who plays Cid, a ten year old boy. In this present, some people have developed minor
telekinesis skills and Cid’s scenes are what the X-Men franchise could have been. The special effects, coupled with the
soundtrack, make his anger and fear truly spectacular. His acting is impeccable for one so young and
Cid is both sweet and devastating all at once.
Gagnon not only plays Cid seamlessly and beautifully but
the writers have created an incredible character in this boy. One moment you’re terrified, the next you
want to hold him and protect him.
Through this boy, the film questions the nature/nurture argument and
will rip you apart as you will nurture to win.
The nature/nurture theory could also arguably be applied to Joe,
abandoned by his mother as a child and left alone in the world before he became
the youngest looper. It is therefore
surprisingly that he is such a well rounded individual but this makes his
dreams all the more poignant.
Cid is only one fantastic part that makes Looper a
triumph. This film is gory, disturbing,
heart breaking and funny. It is
everything I wanted and needed in a film.
My only piece of advice when watching Looper is not to think
too much about the time travel. Just
accept it as it is given.
Don’t question, just enjoy.
