Geekscape Goes to Sundance 2012: Red Lights
Red Lights is a movie that I really, really wanted to love: great cinematography, strong visuals, and lovely moody color correction, all keep the viewer tense throughout the film. Written and directed by Rodrigo Cortes, this is a joint U.S./Spain production. There are wonderful performances, especially from Sigourney Weaver, who stole the scene every time she was on screen. Cillian Murphy and Robert De Niro were equally compelling, and a well-placed Elizabeth Olsen in a supporting role.
Weaver plays Dr. Matheson, a college professor bent on investigating and exposing paranormal hoaxes. She is a researcher who has yet to encounter paranormal activity that was not fraudulent. Her assistant Tom Buckley (Murphy) is by her side and has learned a great deal from his teacher. As he pushes Matheson to investigate the biggest name among modern psychics, Simon Silver (De Niro), who has just come out of retirement, all hell breaks loose. Compelling and thought through, with just the right number of twists for this type of thriller (albeit, some twists may be predicted by a discerning viewer), this film is a wonderfully entertaining experience. Not surprisingly, Millennium Entertainment has already purchased it for around $4 million dollars. The original budget was sufficient and allowed the film to fully execute its premise.
Where the film failed to deliver, in my opinion, was at the end – and not in the ideas behind the end premise, but rather in their over-the top execution. It really did not need to go as big as it did, and it did not need to do a future fast forward segment – that caused chuckles in a theater full of journalists. The bottom line is that I loved the first 2/3 of the film and heavily disliked the last 1/3. That being said, I would still call this a film worth watching, but not to find out “what really happens”, but rather just to enjoy the ride, and if one does not expect anything, there is a chance to come out of this film pleased. Of note, despite my dislike of the end product, this is the one film from this festival that I immediately had a strong desire to see again.
