Cypher

On By In Reviewss

Dan Owen reviews

Cypher
Distributed by
VCI

    Cover

  • Cert:
  • Cat.no: VCD 0377
  • Running time: 91 minutes
  • Year: 2002
  • Pressing: 2004
  • Region(s): 2, PAL
  • Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Languages: English
  • Subtitles: English
  • Widescreen: 1.85:1
  • 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
  • Macrovision: Yes
  • Disc Format: 2 * DVD 9
  • Price: £17.99
  • Extras:Director’s Commentary, ‘Making Of’ featurette, Behind-The-Scenesspecial-effects footage, cast/crew Interviews, Trailer and DeletedScenes.

    Director:

      Vincenzo Natali

    (Cube)

Producers:

    Shebnem Askin, Hunt Lowry, Paul Federbush, Casey La Scala & Wendy Grean

Screenplay:

    Brian King

Director of Photography:

    Derek Rogers

Cast:

    Morgan Sullivan/Jack Thursby: Jeremy Northam
    Rita Foster: Lucy Liu
    Finster: Nigel Bennett
    Calloway: Timothy Webber
    Vergil Dunn: David Hewlett

From the creative mind of Vincenzo Natali,director of low-budget hit Cube,comes another masterful thought-provoker guaranteed to have fans of cerebralscience-fiction gripped from beginning to end. Debut screenwriter Brian Kinghas crafted a wonderful, involving slice of paranoia that riffs on classic60’s espionage thrillers. Jeremy Northam plays Morgan Sullivan, a shysuburban husband, whose desire for a more exciting life leads him toDigiCorp – a business conglomerate that gives Sullivan a new identity (JackThursby) and turns him into a spy within various commerce trade fairs.However, after settling into his jet-set lifestyle, the appearance of afemme fatale called Rita Foster (Lucy Liu) complicates matters beyond allrecognition…

To reveal more would do the movie a cruel disservice. Without much budgetarymuscle, Cypher is all about plot and character, but the constraints of theproduction never derail Natali’s movie. In fact, the occasionalspecial-effects moment is adeptly handled and neatly integrated intoCypher’s stylish film noir atmosphere. King’s screenplay rattles along at anenjoyable pace, twisting and turning practically every five minutes toprovide an exhilarating workout for the minds of the audience.

Northam is an enjoyable presence onscreen, managing to make Sullivan an”everyman” that, truly, everyone can identity with. Occasionally, theBritish actor is mentioned as a possible candidate as the next James Bond,and throughout this vastly different espionage adventure you have to admithe’d be an interesting choice.

Lucy Liu’s presence is at odds with her usual Hollywood projects (Charlie’sAngels, anyone?), but here the actress makes it known that she’s fullyprepared to sacrifice mainstream commerciality for a decent script, anintriguing role and the chance to work with a fresh talent like Natali.Liu’s acting style is very different to Northam, yet this disparity createspotent chemistry and elevates their scenes together ten-fold.

If you’re bored to tears with big-budget visual extravaganzas that fail toget you intellectually gripped, Cypher delivers the goods. Natali ensuresthat the film is thoroughly involving and entertaining from start to finish,packed with decent actors, a multi-layered script, some thrifty-yet-funkyvisuals and general auteur pizzazz. After the similarly engaging Cube, alsoshot on a shoestring budget, isn’t it about time movie producers gave Natalia chance to flex his muscles amongst the mainstream? On second thoughts,would this be a disservice to the director? Natali clearly relishesconstraint and has built a reputation in just two films as a secret gem thatonly elitist film fans should know about.

Regardless of your opinion, check out Cypher today – a modern classic ofindependent, low-budget science-fiction.

Cypher arrives on Region 2 DVD in a very stylish silver sleeve, lined withmirrors to give a fractured reflective effect. Inside the sleeve is the keepcase of the 2 DVDs, together with a somewhat redundant reprint of the DVDsback cover.

The menu screens are smart, efficient and stylish, but not terriblyinteractive (particularly on Disc 2’s “Extras”). Still, the 1.85:1anamorphic widescreen picture is of fine quality, faithfully presenting thefilm and doing a good job with the use of deep blacks, pure whites and murkygrey tones. The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound is good, particularlyduring flashbacks and when emanating the sound of a passenger jet, butotherwise Cypher is a movie that doesn’t rely very heavily on sonic effectsto make its points.

The Extra Features on Disc 2 are sadly quite disappointing. I wasn’texpecting very much from a low-budget sci-fi movie that enjoyed only alimited release in cinemas, but the presence of two discs seemed to suggesta treasure trove of goodies were to be had. Sadly this isn’t the case. It’sbewildering to even think why Cypher warranted two DVDs, anyway, becausethe film’s meagre running time should have ensured there’d be enough room onDisc 1 for the anorexic offering the filmmakers have given fans.

Anyway, beyond the interesting Director’s Commentary for cinephiles, there’sa very short “Making Of” featurette that doesn’t really offer much insightbeyond the obvious, a “Behind The Scenes” segment where the directorcommentates on the special-effects footage and their evolution (actually,quite interesting), some deservedly excised “Deleted Scenes”, a “TheatricalTrailer” and some “Interviews” with the cast and crew. To be honest, for alow-budget movie the Extra Features aren’t all that bad, but the potentialfor much more on the second DVD, is infuriating.

Overall, a strong release – most notable for the ingenious DVD packagingdesign and good reproduction of the film’s picture and sound, and lessrevered for its shaky decision to bundle two DVD’s where one would havesufficed…

THE MOVIE DIRECTION
PERFORMANCES
SPECIAL FX
MUSIC & SOUND


OVERALL
THE DVD PICTURE
SOUND
PACKAGING
MENU SCREENS
EXTRAS



OVERALL
Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2004.

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