Twelve Monkeys
1995 · Directed by Terry Gilliam
Original language: English
- science fiction
- thriller
- mystery
The story
In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the son of a famous virus expert who may hold the key to the Army of the 12 Monkeys; thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.
What it’s like
Gritty, grimy and off-kilter, with handheld jolts, canted Dutch angles and wide-angle distortion that make ordinary rooms feel slightly wrong. The future scenes are bleached, cold and underground, all grey concrete, sickly blue-green and dim sodium-lit corridors, while the 1990s Philadelphia is muddy, sallow and overcast, full of sodden streets, drab hospital wards and fluorescent glare. Terry Gilliam's restless camera and collage-like editing keep the eye unsettled, and Trent Reznor's industrial-tinged score and Michael Kamen's ominous strings pulse under long stretches of silence. The vibe is paranoid, feverish and melancholic, with dark absurd humour seeping through the dread. It suits a late-night watch when you want to feel slightly unmoored, and it rewards close attention. The intensity is moderate: some sudden violence and gunfire, brief bloody moments, and a constant unease around mental illness and captivity, but no gore spectacle. Its tone is bleak and cerebral, with the arc of a fractured man and a doubting woman drawn into each other's delusions. It is for viewers who like unsettling, idiosyncratic sci-fi and don't mind a film that stays uneasy from start to finish.
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