Have you ever walked into a movie, sat for 110 min., and by the time the credits began to roll your jaw was dropped and the only thing you could muster up for the next five minutes was “WTF?” What about when, 15 minutes into the movie, you turn to the person next to you and ask if you’re trippin’ balls? Well, all that happened to my colleagues and I at the screening of the “Kubrickian” sci-fi flick, Beyond the Black Rainbow.
Now I can’t exactly put into words what the hell I saw unfold on that screen. I know there were a lot of bright colors through the use of chromatic cinematography, a crazy cool score that was made up of synths, bits and pieces of what might be considered a story, and a Phantom Menace droid lookalike. Because I can’t explain what I saw, I will let you read the synopsis below but, be warned, it may read great but until you see it you’ll realize that synopsis is both truthful and deceitful:
Panos Cosmatos brings a bold, Kubrickian vision to the screen in stunning detail in this sci-fi fable of a young woman imprisoned in an experimental laboratory and the enigmatic scientist who is her captor. Set in a futuristic 1983, Elena finds herself held against her will in a mysterious facility under the watchful eye of the sinister Dr. Barry Nyle. Pushed to her limits, Elena is left with no choice but to navigate an escape from her labyrinthine prison, in the process revealing its hidden secrets.
Having not watched the trailer beforehand, I really didn’t know what to expect. I thought I would be getting something colorful and unique. And while this film may be both of those things, it eventually comes off as a too ambitious and a bit confusing. So many things happened in the film that just don’t seem to serve a purpose. MINOR SPOILER: Why did the movie, in the last 20 minutes, turn from a pure sci-fi click into a horror? END SPOILER. What did the FUBAR looking headbangers have anything to do with the story? I don’t think I could give you confident answers even after two or thre viewings.
I’m not sure if director Panos Cosmatos, who I’d love to talk to about this, was on LSD when he put this film together but I will praise him on three aspects of the film. One, how it paid such close attention to detail when mimicking the sci-fi films of the 80s, everything about this movie was old school, from the setting to the score to the overall look and feel of the film. Secondly, his attempt to give it that 2001: A Space Odyssey feel did work, but it felt like it was shoved down my throat since there was no substance behind it after a while. Lastly, the film had a transparency to it that made it look as if it were in 3-D, which was a fantastic effect…for five minutes, after that I started to get a headache and couldn’t wait for the normal scenes to return-although, after a few more screenings this was definitely the screen’s fault.
Maybe I just didn’t get it, but Beyond the Black Rainbow is a confusing acid trip that was made specifically for uber sci-fi fans. I love the genre but I just didn’t like the movie. When literally nothing makes sense anymore, I feel as if the film loses its credibility, and that’s what happened to me with this one. It also doesn’t help when 15 people walk out after 15 minutes of watching the movie but hey, at least the tag line for the poster (above) warned them. Good job marketing team!
Rating: A Kubrickian acid trip that just keeps you thinking, WTF man, WTF? (4/10)
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