The CellIf you were to compare the whole of society to the universe, each person's mind would be a distinct and individual planet, some familiar in nature, others alien to the point of being incomprehensible. In director Tarsem Singh's film, The Cell, the mind is a battleground, where the psyche is manifested as a place that is born of fantasy, literally and figuratively. The dream-like images that are a stark contrast to the comparatively washed out reality defy logic, as dreams are inclined to do, but remain the outlet to the mind through which child psychologist Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez) plugs into.
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The Cell is, in terms of plot, a procedural thriller, reminiscent of films like The Silence of the Lambs or Seven, coincidentally both scored by Howard Shore, who also scores this movie. A schizophrenic serial killer named Carl Rudolph Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio) is on the loose, tracked by the FBI, with the investigative team headed up by profiler and detective Agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn). In most thrillers of this sort, the climax of the film would build to catching Stargher and saving his ultimate victim; yet fairly early on, Stargher is apprehended, although he has fallen into a comatose state--a result of his unique form of schizophrenia--and is likely to remain that way indefinitely. Unfortunately, his final victim, Julia Hickson (Tara Subkoff), has already been committed to a complex water trap which will activate in a little more than a day, turning the conflict from not just saving Julia, but discovering her whereabouts. Catherine would seem an odd choice for volunteer police work, not because she doesn't care, but rather quite the opposite. As a child psychologist, her work for the past year and a half has been to act as the primary connection with a young boy, Edward Baines (Colton James)--coyly referred to as "Mr. E" early on--and her efforts to draw him out of his state of severe mental shock by engaging him in his persistent dream by means of a virtual reality device. The machine allows for Catherine to transport her mind into that of Edward's, to try to ensure that a line of communication can be opened, to reason with him into returning to the "real world". Catherine argues that she would benefit from reversing the flow, so that Edward could experience a new setting and grow as a result; but before she has her chance, she is approached with an earnest plea by Peter to try to glean some insight as to Julia's whereabouts from the comatose killer's mind. The thought that Catherine would be able to reach into the shocking and demented mental landscape of a murderer seems absurd, but less so when one considers what Stargher really is: a man whose mind is frozen over in a state of arrested development. Stargher represents the worst extremes of childlike behavior, manifested in warped rituals, devoid of morality or empathy. He even models his victims to look like dolls, both objects and toys. Catherine begins to understand this side of Stargher as she dives into his horrifying world, although she must face the devil in the eye before this revelation comes.
Catherine is not a novice when it comes to exploring the unknown, and perhaps at some unconscious level--and The Cell is all about the unconscious--she wants to explore Stargher's mind, if only to save it if she can. Catherine navigates Edward's unconsciousness with deft ease for the most part, playing by the rules where able while establishing others to communicate more effectively with her patient. In her off time at home, she smokes marijuana--something she may have started to alter her perception--and watches surreal animation like Fantastic Planet, depicting strange, far off worlds. Catherine and Peter both want to do the right thing, although their methods and areas of expertise vary. Peter recalls a story to Catherine about why he became an FBI agent, following his belief that his role as an attorney was insufficient in stopping madmen like Stargher. He does not believe that one's trauma can mold them into a killer, and his reticence to accept that is the wall that prevents him from gaining the clues he needs to find Julia. Catherine is on the other side of this ideological divide, and accepts that people become products of their environment. She witnesses in Stargher's mind the abuses he suffered at the hands of his father, and the catalyst of his baptism and other events which cemented the fixation on water as the instrument of his killing in his mind. Catherine sees Stargher's mind as a prison which has been built up by his own suffering, where his dark side serves as his own warden and tormentor in lieu of his absentee father. Water is a primal element in The Cell as it is in life, and its effects are felt not just in Stargher's modus operandi, but the operation of the machine which transports Catherine's mind into Stargher's. Catherine observes that Stargher had metal rings implanted in his back, a sadomasochistic addition and part of his ritual killings; but she observes that it must have felt comforting to him, a sense of weightlessness like being in water. The machine's setup is not much different than Stargher's own crude fashioning of self-suspension, leaving the participants nearly floating in air in suits which resemble visceral muscle, shrouds placed over their dreaming faces. The Cell challenges us with the incomprehensible scenario of a child psychologist who must sympathize with a serial killer, by virtue of not sympathizing with the actions, but the boy trapped in the body of a man who is compelled to commit these atrocities. Catherine's approach to ultimately discovering the fate of Julia is based on the concept that all communication is a two-way street, and that she must listen to Carl and trust him, even though his dark side is actively trying to destroy her. For Catherine, who commits to this reckless endeavor in the interest of saving Stargher's last victim, the trial becomes not merely to solve the crime, but to solve Carl.
Recommended for: Fans of a visually stunning and psychologically literal thriller with dream imagery varying from beautiful to horrifying. Presented as a serial killer psychological thriller, the film is actually more about the unconscious dreamscape of imagination and fantasy given flesh, and an introspective turn toward understanding what makes an unquiet mind tick.
Catherine is not a novice when it comes to exploring the unknown, and perhaps at some unconscious level--and The Cell is all about the unconscious--she wants to explore Stargher's mind, if only to save it if she can. Catherine navigates Edward's unconsciousness with deft ease for the most part, playing by the rules where able while establishing others to communicate more effectively with her patient. In her off time at home, she smokes marijuana--something she may have started to alter her perception--and watches surreal animation like Fantastic Planet, depicting strange, far off worlds. Catherine and Peter both want to do the right thing, although their methods and areas of expertise vary. Peter recalls a story to Catherine about why he became an FBI agent, following his belief that his role as an attorney was insufficient in stopping madmen like Stargher. He does not believe that one's trauma can mold them into a killer, and his reticence to accept that is the wall that prevents him from gaining the clues he needs to find Julia. Catherine is on the other side of this ideological divide, and accepts that people become products of their environment. She witnesses in Stargher's mind the abuses he suffered at the hands of his father, and the catalyst of his baptism and other events which cemented the fixation on water as the instrument of his killing in his mind. Catherine sees Stargher's mind as a prison which has been built up by his own suffering, where his dark side serves as his own warden and tormentor in lieu of his absentee father. Water is a primal element in The Cell as it is in life, and its effects are felt not just in Stargher's modus operandi, but the operation of the machine which transports Catherine's mind into Stargher's. Catherine observes that Stargher had metal rings implanted in his back, a sadomasochistic addition and part of his ritual killings; but she observes that it must have felt comforting to him, a sense of weightlessness like being in water. The machine's setup is not much different than Stargher's own crude fashioning of self-suspension, leaving the participants nearly floating in air in suits which resemble visceral muscle, shrouds placed over their dreaming faces. The Cell challenges us with the incomprehensible scenario of a child psychologist who must sympathize with a serial killer, by virtue of not sympathizing with the actions, but the boy trapped in the body of a man who is compelled to commit these atrocities. Catherine's approach to ultimately discovering the fate of Julia is based on the concept that all communication is a two-way street, and that she must listen to Carl and trust him, even though his dark side is actively trying to destroy her. For Catherine, who commits to this reckless endeavor in the interest of saving Stargher's last victim, the trial becomes not merely to solve the crime, but to solve Carl.
Recommended for: Fans of a visually stunning and psychologically literal thriller with dream imagery varying from beautiful to horrifying. Presented as a serial killer psychological thriller, the film is actually more about the unconscious dreamscape of imagination and fantasy given flesh, and an introspective turn toward understanding what makes an unquiet mind tick.