The rich inner world The main character of the film, a psychiatrist, penetrates the consciousness of a serial killer in a coma. On account of his almost a dozen victims, and the victims, as a rule, are young attractive girls, whom the maniac tortures in the most inhuman way before taking their lives. The last girl he kidnapped has not yet been found, but there is hope that she can still be saved. However, to do this, you first need to penetrate the dark brains of a psychopath and find out where the terrible torture chamber is located.
A lot of movies have been made about maniacs and murderers. From masterpieces such as The Silence of the Lambs to bad paintings such as The Human Hunter, all had one thing in common, namely that they were built according to a specific plan. All the films about Hannibal Lector differed from this circle only in that the main maniac was not a criminal. And otherwise, he adhered to the same linear composition as all other films of this genre. First there is a series of murders, then the investigation, and then the police (or some loner) find the perpetrator. Unlike all these films, The Cage is a non-linear, not-so-different thriller about a maniac. Everything here is extraordinary, from the plot to the style.
Of course, it is clear that many people the very idea of the film may seem a little naive and overly fantastic. For example, I thought so, but behind all this there is something quite interesting. Surrealism, at its best, unfolds in the mind of Karl Starger. A kaleidoscope of a variety of images, the meaning of which is very difficult to understand, flashes before us.
Generally, the plot of the film can be divided into two lines, real and surreal, but throughout the film it is done so elegantly that it is not even noticeable that there are two. Only at the end during the interchange can these lines be clearly observed with a rapid change of frames. And in general, Tarsem Singh in his first film masterfully worked without letting the viewer fully understand, as well as the heroes of the film, what is reality and what is just an illusion. Of course, many people don’t like to be deceived or misled, but when they do it so elegantly, they can only applaud. He shows both the core investigation around which the film revolves, and the parallel line about the personal drama of the maniac himself, because of which in our eyes he ceases to be such, or at least we see that all the evil in his soul dies out.
The film is very interesting visually. He's very beautiful. Especially during the immersion beyond the mind, where reality ends and illusion begins, during surreal images. Beautiful is probably the wrong word. They're stylish, aesthetic. Beautiful combination of colors, separation of tones. I would still make some episodes black and white and then there would be no price at all. Well, the acting, what can I say? Jennifer Lopez played in this film a reasonable woman psychiatrist, which is generally rare. Something, and their reason in this profession is difficult to preserve, so there is one drawback. And somehow she looked stone in the film. Even at the end of the film, when it seemed that a fountain of emotions was supposed to go, I did not notice anything like this. And the rest of the actors played neither shaky nor roll, but still the picture did not spoil, since the whole atmosphere was mainly set by style and external environment.
An unusual, elegant, stylish detective picture. Of course, each episode can be interpreted differently, and someone may say that it is complete nonsense, and the other that it is the opposite, genius. I'll tell you what's good. I didn’t pretend to do more of this film, but still for revealing the mental state of the main criminal, I would add another half point to this film. Still, in such usually soulless paintings, you can rarely see any spark of character. And here she was, really not in people.
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