10 Cloverfield Lane
Look out: Dan Trachtenberg’s “10 Cloverfield Lane” is one of those films that you should know little about going in, in fact no one even knew it existed until the trailer broke. The movie uses forced perspective to keep the audience guessing about what is happening exactly. I am going to tread lightly with this review but if you want to click away now, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all. Do come back after seeing it.
“10 Cloverfield Lane” is a tight, tense thriller carried by excellent performances from John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. After the world ends, there are echoes of Alfred Hitchcock and H.G. Wells that have been embedded in a cat and mouse game. Its a sequel to 2008’s “Cloverfield”, the found footage film about an alien invasion without directly acknowledging this in traditional blockbuster ways. It actually appears like a spin-off from that film which imagines another story taking place elsewhere on earth but within the same universe.
While that film followed a popular trend (found footage), this feels more like an old-fashioned movie done simply as genre pictures of 50s and 60s would be. For me, though, Trachtenberg and his team failed to delve into some of the potential themes for the film as much as they could have or made it more visually compelling than it really was. Still, this is strong entertainment; you’re just supposed to sit around wondering until the last 100 minutes then start arguing for life when you’ve finally been thrown back into life afterwards.
Underneath “The Cellar,” before being referred to as such during development Josh Campbell and Matthew Stuecken wrote the script (Damien Chazelle had co-story credit). This is how so far so good Whiplash writer Damien Chazelle got involved with Cloverfield franchise through co-credited story credits with other writers Josh Campbell and Matthew Stuecken. As Michelle (Winstead) drives away from her life and partner, she leaves her house keys and ring on the table as there are ominous reports of power outages on the coast through the radio.
Those opening scenes are clearly inspired by another story about a woman who moves away from the city to a dangerous rural area; anyone that has seen “Psycho” will think of Marion Crane in the opening act of Hitchcock’s classic when they see Michelle packing her bags and Bear McCreary’s overwrought, Hermann-like score. It doesn’t take long before she meets her Norman Bates.
After a horrifying car accident, Michelle came to in an empty room with no amenities chained to the wall. He soon met her captor, Howard (John Goodman), a big figure though he insisted that was more like a savior than as kidnapper. After witnessing Michelle’s accident when the sky burst open, there had been an “event” outside and if not for him she would be dead by now since he pulled her into his bunker which he prepared for such eventualities.
It could be Russians or North Koreans or Martians whatever it is the air probably won’t be breathable for one or two years. And isn’t Michelle lucky that they have enough food, filtered air, and other supplies in this doomsday prepper’s bunker to wait it out?
They are not alone; just before Howard closed the door their neighbor Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) forced himself inside too. For someone who has been watching Howard create this bunker for times like this one, Emmett confirms much of what Howard says leaving Michelle convinced finally.
Emmett becomes a fulcrum of “Short Term 12,” vacillating between feeding Michelle’s paranoia and validating that Howard is somewhat true to his word at least at certain points in time. Then things become worse for the girl after a failed escape attempt reveals something terrible making her concede that these two individuals will never see any other human being again even if they spent eternity searching.
Howard isn’t right though. He’s controlling, way too much especially considering how he treats Michelle and Emmett together. There’s a fabulous scene of game playing where we can see how misogynistic Howard is but then after all we still don’t know where it will go next in terms of his plans.
That sense of unease is also present in Trachtenberg’s script but it’s John Goodman who makes your skin crawl. He portrays someone on the verge of insanity who must maintain control. Although he is not a typical lunatic as some actors might have portrayed the character, he genuinely believes that he is saving humanity and this contributes to his God complex domination. Goodman keeps such an amazing mystery around Howard’s character so that we can see a glimpse of a previously better side of him yet even those are volatile. Howard reminds Michelle and Emmett of everything he did for them, therefore one may wonder what life would be like in return.
In terms of performance, Winstead has matched Goodman every step of the way. Amazing in “Smashed” and “Faults,” she remains underappreciated by many audiences. In her role in “10 Cloverfield Lane,” she conveys Michelle’s ambivalence about her situation while maintaining a high level of awareness throughout. She knows as much as we do; thus, we see everything through her eyes all the things that she has to negotiate with each obstacle or conflict one at a time just like us.
The last thirty minutes of “10 Cloverfield Lane” are pretty much going to be the ones that people talk about when discussing the film. Without giving anything away, it’s a series of things that occur where Michelle encounters fresh problems around every bend (that is only true if you have never seen a thriller).
Even though I’m not certain it is as coherent as it could have been from a narrative perspective and one could notice how the traditional thriller has been retrofitted into the sci-fi universe Winstead and directors maintain its coherence through sheer bravado. The final act, like the opening scenes of the movie, is largely devoid of dialogue.
There isn’t any such nonsense like characters talking to themselves often seen in second rate movies which are not as confident in visual storytelling as they should be. Several films often guide you through every step on this rollercoaster ride. By the time “10 Cloverfield Lane” reaches its climax, it demands that you throw your hands up in the air and scream your lungs out.
Watch 10 Cloverfield Lane For Free On Solarmovies.