Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 9 mins
Director. Terry Gilliam
Cast. David Morse, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, Madeleine Stowe, Bruce Willis.
Rating. 39%
Cards on the table. I've never been a huge fan of Terry Gilliam. His films have often struck me as indulgent, egocentric and hubristic, with eccentric visuals and anarchic, and at times incomprehensible, storylines.
12 Monkeys does nothing to allay this perception.
The opening title sequence reports,
"...5 billion people will die from a deadly virus in 1997...
...The survivors will abandon the surface of the planet...
...Once again, the animals will rule the world..."
- Excerpts from interview with clinically diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, April 12, 1990 - Baltimore County Hospital.
In 2035, convicted criminal James Cole (Bruce Willis) is sent back in time to discover the origin of this devastating virus. With scant exposition, scientists believe the virus is potentially linked to the rogue militant movement, The Army Of The 12 Monkeys.
12 Monkeys is based on an avant-garde short film, La Jetée directed by Chris Marker in 1962. Whilst the initial premise of the film is interesting, the execution is poor. Initially disorientating, by the time Terry Giliam had regained control of the storyline, my interest had waned considerably. Not even a kick-in-the-teeth final realisation could reignite interest.
At the time of release, the performances from the two main leads must have been eye-catching. Brad Pitt, in particular, fresh from flimsy, undemanding, romantic performances in Thelma And Louise, A River Runs Through It and Legends Of The Fall, plays very much against type to that point. Although 1995 saw the actor star in Se7en, as well as 12 Monkeys. Brad Pitt's kinetic depiction of insanity is a manic, cartoonish caricature, that conjures up connotations of the character Klunk from the Hanna Barbera cartoon, Dastardly & Muttley In Their Flying Machines. Perhaps unfairly, but compare Pitt's portrayal of Jeffrey Goines to his portrayal of Tyler Durden in Fight Club - two characters who are slaves to delusions and stream-of-consciousness conspiracy theories. Equally whilst Bruce Willis demonstrates a vulnerable, child-like naivety for nostalgia, he struggles with a convincing depiction of mental instability. And let's not even begin to consider Madeleine Stowe's pitiful performance as psychiatrist, Dr Kathryn Railly.
More than 25 years after its original release, and in the wake of a global pandemic, 12 Monkeys central prophecy is unnerving. The film's apocalyptic vision, suddenly doesn't seem as far-fetched as it once was.
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