(SLIVER meets SOMEWHERE IN TIME meets SEVEN equals… one awesome movie!)
CAST: Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, Val Kilmer, Bruce Greenwood, Adam Goldberg, Jim Caviezel, Elden Henson, Erika Alexander.
DIRECTOR: Tony Scott
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and one seriously trippy romantic thriller reaching across time and space - straight ahead…
IT’S LIKE THIS: It’s Fat Tuesday in New Orleans and a bunch of U.S. Navy sailors and their families are on the Algiers ferry, enroute to one hell of a celebration. Unfortunately, before they can get there, the ferry explodes sky-high, courtesy of a powerful bomb left by a whackjob terrorist. Enter ATF agent Doug Carlyn (Denzel Washington), determined to find out who the baddie is. But before he can get too busy investigating the ferry bombing, he finds himself unraveling the mystery of the death of one Claire Kurchever (Paula Patton). Seems Claire’s body washed up onshore just before the ferry blew. Being the super-smart and super-sharp agent that he is, Doug correctly surmises that Claire’s murder is somehow related to the explosion - and believes the same guy that planted the bomb on the ferry also killed her. As if that wasn’t enough to give a guy a migraine, Doug learns that the local FBI unit led by Val Kilmer (or someone who looks just like him) has developed a technology that allows them to look four days into the past through recorded surveillance satellite footage. Soon, Doug and his new buddies are “watching” Claire’s last few days on huge video screens like they’re practicing for SLIVER 2, only they’re not perverts like William Baldwin’s character was. They’re hoping to find clues to her impending murder - and hopefully solve both her death and the ferry explosion. Talk about a tall order…
THE DUDE (OR DUDETTE) MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: Doug Carlyn and his band of FBI techno-geeks. Just call them Time Cops. Oh, wait. That’s a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie. Never mind…
EYE CANDY MOST LIKELY TO FIRE UP A WOODY: Denzel is one fine mo-fo. He’s like Daniel Craig, Kevin Costner, and Robert Redford rolled into one - but, you know, a brutha. Still, I have to go with the hauntingly and exotically gorgeous Paula Patton on this one. She is the main reason I love this film - and there are many reasons…
MOST INTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: Doug and co. trying to track down the terrorist’s hideout - by driving around blind using the recorded surveillance from four days ago. Sounds crazy - but it’s awesome. Watch and see.
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: Doug watching footage of Claire‘s daily activities (with her completely unaware that she will die in a few days) and slowly deciding he has to save her. There’s nothing more romantic than someone saving your life - by putting theirs on the line.
HOTTEST SCENE: The aforementioned scene of Doug deciding to save Claire. And the scene where Doug and Claire finally meet across time and space. How can that be? Well… watch the movie. : )
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: Is the surveillance footage the FBI is using really just recorded from satellites? Or is it something else? Something more to do with - gasp - time travel? If so, is it possible for them to reach into the past and warn the authorities of the impending ferry bombing? What about Claire? Can they track down her killer before he gets to her? Can they send a message through time to warn her before that happens? Can Doug actually save Claire? Does he have to travel back in time himself? If so, can he take me with him so I can, this time, accept that internship with James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment instead of turning it down like the dumb shit that I am? Ha ha.
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH “DEJA VU”: If you can suspend your disbelief - and buy into some pretty fantastic sci-fi elements. And if you like ambitious, provocative films that are also confident without being arrogant, and romantic without being false. If so, you will love the shit out of DÉJÀ VU.
WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY “DEJA VU”: If you are incapable of suspending your disbelief and taking a logical leap of faith. If so, watch the NASDAQ report instead.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: In our review for MR. & MRS. SMITH (review # 376), we discussed how I didn’t see that movie until fairly recently despite being released over five years ago. The reason was not because of any moral judgement on the whole Team Jolie/Team Aniston thing, but simply because the trailers didn’t excite me. They were okay - but not enough to make me crave seeing the film. When I finally did, I was very impressed. MR & MRS. SMITH was great entertainment: smart, funny, exciting, fresh, and memorable.
DÉJÀ VU was released in 2006, but I didn’t catch it in theatres during its initial theatrical run. As with MR & MRS SMITH, the trailers for DÉJÀ VU were okay, even interesting, but they just didn’t make me want to beat a path to the cinemas to see it. But, as with MR & MRS SMITH once more, I ended up loving DÉJÀ VU very much - so much so that I had to rewatch the trailers to see any clues to the near-brilliant movie they advertised. In our review for NIGHTS IN RODANTHE (review # 377), we discussed great trailers that turn out to be disappointing films. The reverse is true of MR & MRS SMITH and DÉJÀ VU - their trailers do not even begin to hint at how terrific movies they are.
DÉJÀ VU is such a tricky blend of action, thriller, romance, and sci-fi that it must have been a terrifying prospect to pitch to studio executives. Fortunately, the execs bought into it and greenlit the project. Even more fortuitously, skilled action/thriller director Tony Scott and his usual star Denzel Washington came on board to frontline the project. These two had collaborated to give us such stellar fare as CRIMSON TIDE and MAN ON FIRE, and would go on to give us THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE and UNSTOPPABLE. In between would be one of their most interesting and atypical efforts - DÉJÀ VU.
Despite its complicated set-up, DEJA VU movie succeeds admirably because of the deft, graceful way Scott combines a pulsating mystery, provocative sci-fi element, galvanizing actioner, and haunting romance into one dynamically kinetic movie. Quite frankly, this is a movie-going experience like no other. But, as I wrote before, much of how you enjoy DÉJÀ VU hinges on how capable you are of suspending your disbelief. This movie will require it. If you can manage it, though, you will be rewarded.
However, Scott is not solely responsible for this film’s success. His stars are just as deserving of credit. Denzel Washington once again proves his unique leading man mettle. As I’ve written in previous Washington movie reviews, he is most interesting when he’s playing a combo of swagger, smarts, and soul. And Doug Carlyn is probably the Denzel Washington hero who best represents this combo. Doug is not some boring goodie-goodie, but a believably flawed human who sometimes lets his emotions rule him.
This is never more apparent than in Doug’s growing obsession with the memory and image of Claire. The scenes where he watches what he thinks is surveillance footage of Claire (before he realizes he’s actually looking at the past) is filmed in such a compelling way as to make us understand completely why he would be haunted by this woman - and eventually decide to risk everything to save her - and thereby save the ferry explosion victims.
It further helps that the talented Harry Gregson-Williams (a protégé of Hans Zimmer) composed the musical score for DÉJÀ VU - which is one of the best I’ve ever heard. It’s sinister, energetic, and deeply romantic at the same time. Especially the themes for Claire - which play over the scenes of Doug watching Claire’s life. These pieces are evocative and memorable. The Deleted Scenes on the DVD have an extended version of Carlyn studying Claire’s days leading to her death, and I think it should’ve been retained in the final cut of the film to further drive home his growing love for her. This scene is titled “Carlyn Studies Claire” and is required viewing by anyone who loves this film. It is accessible through the DVD’s Bonus Features.
Speaking of Claire, just as with Denzel Washington and his lead role, it was absolutely crucial to have the right actress play her. If we don’t get why Doug would be so entranced and almost hypnotized by her, then we won’t understand the risks he takes to save her and change her future. And Paula Patton is the perfect actress to embody a character whom Doug (and we) initially glimpse as a corpse, then as a “phantom image” through a time window looking into the past in the days before her murder, then finally as a living, breathing woman when he travels back in time to rescue her. Patton’s exotic, dark-eyed, cat-like beauty is instrumental in having us understand why Doug would be so captivated by her, first in memory, then in image, then for real.
But Patton brings more than beauty to the role; she also has a certain magnetic vulnerability. In the scenes of Doug and his team watching her every move in the past for clues to how she will cross paths with DÉJÀ VU’s villain, this is more than evident. Whether she’s sitting on the couch drinking wine and writing in her journal, or feeding her cat and playing with him, or preparing a meal for herself, we can’t help but be drawn to her the way Doug is. And much of how hypnotic Claire is comes from Patton’s striking combo of beauty, humor, and intelligence. I can’t wait to see her as the heroine in the latest MISSION IMPOSSIBLE movie.
The support cast is, as typical for Tony Scott/Denzel Washington movie, reliably solid. Bruce Greenwood and Val Kilmer are vivid as the “bad cop” and “good cop” FBI agents who hinder (Greenwood) and aid (Kilmer) Doug in his quest to save both Claire and the ferry victims. Erika Alexander and Adam Goldberg are the standouts of the technical crew manning the “time window.” Finally, Jim Caviezel manages the neat trick of making his villainous terrorist unexpectedly vulnerable and soulful, in addition to being expectedly psychotic and dangerous. He does this with little gestures and expressions, reminding us just how talented an actor he is. It’s a shame we don’t see much of him these days.
In the end, DÉJÀ VU is a film that is almost indescribable. We’ve discussed in past reviews how some movies should be felt and experienced, rather than described. DÉJÀ VU is another title to add to that list. It’s an experience that will stay with you - just like how Claire stays with Doug…
Someone posted one of the DEJA VU score's best tracks on YouTube. It is titled "You Can Save Her" and it plays over the scenes of Doug studying Claire's life - and slowly falling for her. This track also doubles as Claire's theme. Great music...
