Vincenzo Natali's Cypher is a fast-paced, convoluted, low-budget science fiction film full of twists and turns, but unfortunately the film's thematic ideals are never quite capable of keeping up with the film's more impressive technical side. The film tells the story of Morgan Sullivan, a man who has just accepted a job as an industrial spy at Digicorp, one of the leading computer corporations in the world. Hoping for a more exciting profession, Morgan finds himself on the road constantly, sent to various conventions, being tasked with documenting the speeches. After meeting a mysterious woman named Rita, Sullivan begins to realize his job isn't exactly what the thought it was, as he has accidentally ventured into a dark world of corporate espionage where brainwashing and identity swapping have become common practices. Considering the low-budget of Cypher, Vincenzo Natali has created an impressive world for these characters to inhabit, giving the film a believable vision of the future which feels very much in the same vein as Philip K. Dick. In fact, the visual aesthetic of Cypher, along with skilled direction, is by far the strongest aspect of the film, as Natali uses tight compositions and fish eye lenses that combine to give the whole film another level of tension, paranoia, and claustrophobia, as his main protagonist Morgan, falls deeper and deeper into the mysterious world of corporate espionage. Cypher does an effective job at transporting the viewer into the mindset of Morgan, a man who begins to feel he is being watches, forever unsure of who could be trusted. I particularly liked how Natali uses lighting and shadows to amplify aspects of the unknown, often using shadows to make various faces unidentifiable to the viewer or the main protagonist, given the whole film a feeling of mystery and tension, as one can't help but always feel like Morgan is being watched by some mysterious presence. The narrative itself is somewhat compelling but I'd be lying if I didn't say it gave me whiplash, as Cypher relies on a snowball of revelations, twists, and turns, to keep its narrative going in a way that at times makes you wonder what the hell Natali is trying to say. With the way its main protagonist is caught between two huge corporations, being pushed and pulled at every turn, Vincenzo Natali seems to have something to say about corporate America, displaying the decreasing value of the employee, as Morgan is used and abused by his superiors for their own corporate gains. Featuring a narrative that borders on silliness at times and themes which don't feel developed or nuaunced enough to have much of an impact, Cypher is a film that never manages to break out, but given the impressive aesthetic and direction of Cypher, it's still worth a watch for any fans of the science fiction genre.
1 Comment
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2/11/2023 02:51:22 am
great film
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June 2023
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