Shebnem Askin, Hunt Lowry, Paul Federbush, Casey La Scala & Wendy Grean
Screenplay:
Brian King
Director of Photography:
Derek Rogers
Cast:
Morgan Sullivan/Jack Thursby: Jeremy Northam
Rita Foster: Lucy Liu
Finster: Nigel Bennett
Calloway: Timothy Webber
Vergil Dunn: David Hewlett
From the creative mind of Vincenzo Natali,
director of low-budget hit Cube,
comes another masterful thought-provoker guaranteed to have fans of cerebral
science-fiction gripped from beginning to end. Debut screenwriter Brian King
has crafted a wonderful, involving slice of paranoia that riffs on classic
60's espionage thrillers. Jeremy Northam plays Morgan Sullivan, a shy
suburban husband, whose desire for a more exciting life leads him to
DigiCorp - a business conglomerate that gives Sullivan a new identity (Jack
Thursby) and turns him into a spy within various commerce trade fairs.
However, after settling into his jet-set lifestyle, the appearance of a
femme fatale called Rita Foster (Lucy Liu) complicates matters beyond all
recognition...
To reveal more would do the movie a cruel disservice. Without much budgetary
muscle, Cypher is all about plot and character, but the constraints of the
production never derail Natali's movie. In fact, the occasional
special-effects moment is adeptly handled and neatly integrated into
Cypher's stylish film noir atmosphere. King's screenplay rattles along at an
enjoyable pace, twisting and turning practically every five minutes to
provide an exhilarating workout for the minds of the audience.
Northam is an enjoyable presence onscreen, managing to make Sullivan an
"everyman" that, truly, everyone can identity with. Occasionally, the
British actor is mentioned as a possible candidate as the next James Bond,
and throughout this vastly different espionage adventure you have to admit
he'd be an interesting choice.
Lucy Liu's presence is at odds with her usual Hollywood projects (Charlie's
Angels, anyone?), but here the actress makes it known that she's fully
prepared to sacrifice mainstream commerciality for a decent script, an
intriguing role and the chance to work with a fresh talent like Natali.
Liu's acting style is very different to Northam, yet this disparity creates
potent chemistry and elevates their scenes together ten-fold.
If you're bored to tears with big-budget visual extravaganzas that fail to
get you intellectually gripped, Cypher delivers the goods. Natali ensures
that the film is thoroughly involving and entertaining from start to finish,
packed with decent actors, a multi-layered script, some thrifty-yet-funky
visuals and general auteur pizzazz. After the similarly engaging Cube, also
shot on a shoestring budget, isn't it about time movie producers gave Natali
a chance to flex his muscles amongst the mainstream? On second thoughts,
would this be a disservice to the director? Natali clearly relishes
constraint and has built a reputation in just two films as a secret gem that
only elitist film fans should know about.
Regardless of your opinion, check out Cypher today - a modern classic of
independent, low-budget science-fiction.
Cypher arrives on Region 2 DVD in a very stylish silver sleeve, lined with
mirrors to give a fractured reflective effect. Inside the sleeve is the keep
case of the 2 DVDs, together with a somewhat redundant reprint of the DVDs
back cover.
The menu screens are smart, efficient and stylish, but not terribly
interactive (particularly on Disc 2's "Extras"). Still, the 1.85:1
anamorphic widescreen picture is of fine quality, faithfully presenting the
film and doing a good job with the use of deep blacks, pure whites and murky
grey tones. The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound is good, particularly
during flashbacks and when emanating the sound of a passenger jet, but
otherwise Cypher is a movie that doesn't rely very heavily on sonic effects
to make its points.
The Extra Features on Disc 2 are sadly quite disappointing. I wasn't
expecting very much from a low-budget sci-fi movie that enjoyed only a
limited release in cinemas, but the presence of two discs seemed to suggest
a treasure trove of goodies were to be had. Sadly this isn't the case. It's
bewildering to even think why Cypher warranted two DVDs, anyway, because
the film's meagre running time should have ensured there'd be enough room on
Disc 1 for the anorexic offering the filmmakers have given fans.
Anyway, beyond the interesting Director's Commentary for cinephiles, there's
a very short "Making Of" featurette that doesn't really offer much insight
beyond the obvious, a "Behind The Scenes" segment where the director
commentates on the special-effects footage and their evolution (actually,
quite interesting), some deservedly excised "Deleted Scenes", a "Theatrical
Trailer" and some "Interviews" with the cast and crew. To be honest, for a
low-budget movie the Extra Features aren't all that bad, but the potential
for much more on the second DVD, is infuriating.
Overall, a strong release - most notable for the ingenious DVD packaging
design and good reproduction of the film's picture and sound, and less
revered for its shaky decision to bundle two DVD's where one would have
sufficed...
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
