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8mm
*
Rated on a 4-star
scale
USA
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Written by Andrew Kevin Walker
CAST.....
Nicolas Cage..... Tom Welles
Joaquin Phoenix..... Max California
James Gandolfini..... Eddie Poole
Peter Stormare..... Dino Velvet
Anthony Heald..... Longdale
Chris Bauer..... "Machine"
Catherine Keener..... Amy Welles
Amy Morton..... Mrs. Matthews
Three and a half years ago, an amazing film called
"Seven" delved into the nightmare world of a serial killer. It contained
very little onscreen violence, but was incredibly disturbing nonetheless,
involving the audience with how the horror of the case changed the lives
of the two detectives assigned to it.
"Seven" was written by a clerk in a New York City
Tower Records store -- out of the same disillusioned impulses, I suppose,
that drove Paul Schrader into writing "Taxi Driver". His name was Andrew
Kevin Walker, and his pen is also behind "8mm", a new film
delving into the world of the snuff movie.
Nicolas Cage stars, as Tom Welles, a private detective
with a nice wife and kid. Welles is hired by a rich widow concerned about
an eight-millimetre film found in her husband's belongings -- it shows a
young girl being murdered, and she wants reassurance that the clip is not
authentic. Despite the fact that Welles knows snuff movies are urban legend,
he gives an earnest shot at investigating the footage -- impressing this
important client could result in helpful recommendations and a big
pay-out.
The inquiry brings Welles to Los Angeles, where,
it turns out, the girl in the kill-flick had moved, with the customary dream
of becoming a movie star. He meets a smart and friendly porn bookstore attendant,
Max (Joaquin Phoenix), who shows him around the seedy underground sex-market
scene, leading him to the information he needs, as well as danger he
doesn't.
The film begins as laughably wooden and forced
-- even when Welles was conversing with his wife, I really can't remember
a line that didn't seem phoney. When it picked up, however, I forgave it,
because the middle passages are sensational. Phoenix gives a wonderful
performance as Welles's friendly connection, and the two have some fascinating
exchanges. Apart from the photography trying too desperately to emulate the
moody darkness of "Seven", and overusing grimness, the shockingly effective
portrayal of depraved sleaze was realistic, and the door was left open for
a powerful payoff.
Instead, however, the issues and atmosphere are
forgotten in favour of a brash action climax. The quiet, haunting score is
abandoned for loud, sudden slasher-pic chords, and comic-book villains are
introduced, as well as an unsurprising surprise villain. All this betrays
the integrity of the conscientious choice of subject matter, and things get
worse, when the film tries to work up our excitement with long, sadistic,
rabble-rousing torture scenes, in which Welles gets revenge on the snuff
perpetrators. Here, "8mm" turns sick and nasty, employing the same appeal
as the snuff fare it decries.
The director, Joel Schumacher, has shown proficiency
when dealing with scary, shadow-lurking worlds, in the modern classic "The
Lost Boys". He has also shown dramatic incompetence, in such dreck as "Batman
Forever". As the quality of "8mm" stops and starts, he gives us examples
of both traits, but when it finally sells out, he reveals a new one -- complete
lack of morals or ethics. Disgraceful.
COPYRIGHT© 1999 Ian
Waldron-Mantgani
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