No more monkey business (skbreese's Too Much Time On My Hands W/O)

"Twelve Monkeys" is a fascinating psychological thriller that has stuck with me since I first saw it several years ago. Terry Gilliam has certainly made some unusual films, and this is another one to add to the list. Although listed as science fiction, "Twelve Monkeys" is really a twisted, paranoid journey into the mind of a man who may or may not be insane. It's also a powerful statement on the inevitability of fate.

Loosely based on the short French film "La Jetee", "Twelve Monkeys" tells the story of James Cole, (Bruce Willis) a man from the year 2035, or so he believes. It seems that forty years ago in 1996, five billion people died from a plague (this is the nineties, so I guess nuclear holocaust is no longer feasible). With the surface of the earth uninhabitable, the survivors must live underground to escape the deadly virus. Living in these present days of SARS and the West Nile virus, "Twelve Monkeys" doesn't seem that far removed from reality.

Cole is a convict who lives in a enclosed cage along with other convicts. Cole suffers from a recurring dream. Every night it seems, Cole has a dream in which he witnesses a man getting shot and a woman rushing to his side. The origin of this dream, along with other mysteries will be revealed to us as this film progresses.

One day, Cole is "volunteered" for an experiment by his underground world's military rulers. The scientists of Cole's world have discovered a way to send people back in time. Cole is to be their human guinea pig. Cole will be sent back in time to the year 1996 shortly before the outbreak begins. There, he will track down the army of the twelve monkeys, a fanatic animal rights activist group that is going to release the virus that wipes out the human race, or so Cole believes. Cole's job is to get access to the virus before it mutates and bring a sample back to the present, so the scientists can develop a vaccine, and thus repopulate the surface of the earth.

Cole's journey gets off to a bad start when, instead of ending up in 1996, he is dumped in Baltimore of 1990. There, he is taken for insane and is placed in a mental institution with other mental patients. Among them is a crazy hyperactive patient named Jeffrey Goines who takes Cole under his wing. Goines spends half his time with Cole spouting off his hilarious conspiracy theories (I liked the one on germs especially). Cole is unable to convince the institutions psychiatrists of his sanity and the reality of the disaster about to befall mankind. However he does attract the attention of Dr. Kathryn Railly, a compassionate psychiatrist who takes pity on Cole. Cole looks very familiar to Dr. Railly, though she can't quite place where she's seen him.

After an attempted jailbreak fails, Cole finds himself transported back to the present where he is forced to admit his failure. Undaunted, the scientists decide to try again. After another false stop in 1917, Cole finds himself in Baltimore of 1996. Cole tracks down Dr. Railly, who is giving a lecture on 'apocalyptic visions' (how ironic). Cole kidnaps Dr. Railly outside her conference and takes off with her and her car for Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Cole explains, is where The Army of the Twelve Monkeys resides and where the virus is first going to be released. Dr. Railly, being the caring person that she is, tries to help Cole in his mission. So begins Kathryn Railly's journey into the schizophrenic world of James Cole, a man who may or may not be insane.

Terry Gilliam pulls out all the stops in directing this strange film. I swear there are more tilted camera angles here than in Citizen Kane. This is necessary to depict the tilted off-balance world that Cole lives in. There are also many bizarre close ups of television monitors and lenses, which make us feel as paranoid as Cole himself. There's also Gilliam's trademark humour as he satirizes everything from scientists, to cultists, to animal rights activists. Gilliam depicts Philadelphia as a city overflowing with slums and unemployment, with bums, cultists, and gangs lurking around every corner. Not having been to Philadelphia, I can't comment on whether this is the case, but it certainly fits Cole's mindset.

"Twelve Monkeys" is constructed like a mystery with us the audience trying to figure it out. What is the origin of Cole's dream? Why does Cole look so familiar to Dr. Railly? Is the old man in the alley a man from the future spying on Cole, or is he just an ordinary bum? Was it The Army of the Twelve Monkeys who released the virus, or did someone else do it? What is the voice that keeps speaking to and mocking Cole in his head. Is James Cole from the future as he claims, or is he really just insane as Dr. Railly claims?

The cast is uniformly excellent. Bruce Willis both looks and acts the part as the bald, deranged James Cole. But is his instability due to his insanity, or his experiences in the future? Willis is very believable in the scenes where he expresses his wish not to go back to that dead world that to him is "the present". One senses that he wants badly to believe he is insane. His subsequent relationship with Kathryn Railly is emotional and not at all corny.

Madeleine Stowe is also excellent as Kathryn Railly. Dr. Railly is a woman very sure of her belief in her religion, which is psychiatry. So it comes as a profound shock to her when it turns out James Cole might be just who he claims. It's fascinating to watch her character's change from rational skeptic to hysteric believer. Dr. Railly is forced to admit to herself that perhaps her religion can't explain away all problems. It's fun to see the reversal of roles as Dr. Railly comes to believe in Cole's claims while Cole himself comes to believe his insanity.

The standout performance in the cast without a doubt is Brad Pitt as Jeffrey Goines, the leader of the Army of the Twelve Monkeys. Goines always seems to be talking incessantly about his theories, gesturing wildly and waving his hands about in the air. Pitt should have won an Oscar for his role in my opinion. This performance is a far cry from heart-throb type roles he's had in recent years. Jeffrey is certainly crazy. But is he in fact crazy enough to release a deadly virus? Watch and find out.

Other standouts include Christopher Plummer as Dr. Leland Goines, and Frank Gorshin as Dr. Owen Fletcher. Plummer as Dr. Goines, comes off as complacent and patronizing, refusing to admit the full depth of his son's insanity. Gorshin as Dr. Fletcher is portrayed as a cynical chainsmoking man who refuses to listen to his colleague Dr. Railly when she has a change of opinion. Both will pay dearly for their ignorance.

There's also David Morse as Dr. Peters. Though not as obviously insane as Jeffrey Goines, Morse manages to convey a quiet menace to his character behind his mild-mannered appearance. It's perhaps not accidental that Gilliam made Morse up so that he looks very much like Jeffrey Goines.

Not to be overlooked is the terrific score by Paul Buckmaster and Tom Waits. The score seems to convey to the general insanity of Cole and Railly's situation, almost humorously mocking the disaster that may or may not be about to befall mankind.

"Twelve Monkeys" in some ways reminded me of "The Terminator". That film too involved a man from the future trying to warn people about a disaster about to befall the human race. As in that film, the time traveler is taken for insane and locked away. However, there are some differences. For one thing, we don't know for sure whether Cole really is sane or not until the very end of the film. "Twelve Monkeys" is more interested in working on the psychological aspect of the film than the time travel aspect. Another major difference is in the terminator films the timeline can be changed. Here, it's taken for granted that the timeline is set, so that it's taken for granted our heroes cannot hope to stop the coming epidemic. I find this a fascinating concept.

Think about it. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you could travel back in time before some disaster was about to occur? (eg. the 9/11 terrorist attacks) Have you ever wished you could stop it? But what if you couldn't stop it? What if the timeline was set? What if fate was destined to intervene keeping you from stopping the disaster. Gilliam presents us with such a predicament as we realize that Cole and Dr. Railly are heading towards certain doom.

Another film "Twelve Monkeys" reminds me of in some ways is Hitchcock's "Vertigo". Think about it, both James Cole and Kathryn Railly are lovers, one of whom is moving towards his/her doom. Ironically, both find themselves in a theatre at one point watching a key scene from Hitchcock's masterpiece with Cole looking on in fascination. Gilliam parallels certain scenes from "Vertigo" as when Cole comments on Kathryn's hair colour, and when the two comfort each other in the theatre lobby. Gilliam even sets up an opening credits sequence that resemble the swirling patterns in the opening credits of "Vertigo". Clearly, Gilliam is a Hitchcock affectionado.

If there's one drawback to "Twelve Monkeys", it's that you have to use your mind to follow it. This is not one of those films you can lie back and half-follow. This film can be confusing if you're not paying attention. Not to worry, all the mysteries will be solved in the end. Unlike most mindless sci-fi flicks of late, "Twelve Monkeys" makes your mind work and leave you with a lot to think about afterwards.

This is my entry in skbreese's Too Much Time write-off. Other participants include:

donignacio
minorthreat78
drdevience
mimi369
gunn_ipm
Dbbum
fuchebu
insomniac1587
pduva169
sleeper54
lizf
treseed