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Monday, March 19, 2012

Twelve Monkeys (1995)

You can see Bruce Willis (as James Cole) once more broken and beaten in this sci-fi thriller about a human-led apocalypse. Willis is traveling from a dystopic future into the 90s to try learn how a deadly contagion got loose to the demise of humanity. The subject of his quest is an animal rights group called Twelve Monkeys, led by a manic Jeffrey Goines (played by Brad Pitt), whose fanatical obsession with freeing lab animals apparently set the calamitous virus free to wreck life on the planet.

The story gets interesting with twists and the involvement of a beautiful psychiatrist Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) who starts believing Cole’s story of struggle for getting the truth out and they both keeping the struggle even though admitting that they can’t change what happened. Time paradox is skillfully depicted in the film—the question whether the present can for practical purposes be the past after one has traveled from the future. Pitt’s character is weird and despite the critical claim and an Oscar nomination, the crevices in conveying the expressions are visible.

The film is notable in keeping a balanced pace, neither rushing it at points of excitement nor slowing it down below what would keep the audience awake. The ending brings the climax when Cole is shot at the airport and the time is set at the other end – a young Cole walking in and seeing the action. It’s a good one for thriller and sci-fi fans, and yes, for animal rights activists.