Mistakes, break-ups, good times, regrets; all parts of our
ever-accumulating past. None of them erasable. What is done is done, maybe this
is part of the beauty of human existence, the damaging prevalence of our
actions, every second unrepeatable and for that matter extraordinarily unique.
If everything is so permanent and fatalistic, then we should all live our lives
with this cautious cloud over our heads, but we don’t. The fact that life is in
essence unpredictable provides us humans with some sort of hope that things can
change, and that we might be indeed rulers of our own tiny destiny. What
happens when you know exactly how and when you will die? Not only that but that
it is basically a suicide, as you are forced to “kill yourself” in the future
to save yourself now? Mindboggling questions proposed in the new science
fiction film “Looper”. In a world in which crime becomes metaphysically
complex, those that find themselves in the edge of both universes are the
target for a present day killing spree that will alter the future’s reality.
Focusing on one these “inbetweeners” or “loopers” the story stays away from
debating the exact notions and rules of time travel, but instead maximizes the
emotional drama in which the characters are placed by such extraordinary
situations. Smart and wonderfully acted the film is entertaining but insightful
in the nature of memory and how our past affects our path in life. A sort
of “butterfly effect” plot mixed
in with great action sequences, and neo-noir sci-fi touches that create a
surprisingly original film that people will talk about for a while.
The story begins in 2044, which already seems like a far
enough future for us, but this is the present in the film, which actions
resonate 30 years in the future, when time travel is invented and outlawed.
Criminal organizations have upgraded their methods of silencing those who
become a problem, sending them back 30 years to be killed and erased from the
future. Those hired as gunmen are not exempt from becoming a target, when a
certain “looper” need to go, his “loop” is closed”. This is a euphemism to say
they are force to kill their future selves, and enjoy, if that is possible, the
30 years between the event and its repetition in the future. Sound complex, but
the film counts with didactical voiceovers that will guide the audience through
this concepts. Our hero Joe,
played in his younger version by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, delivers such bits of
information. Mutated by audacious make-up and prosthetics, Gordon-Levitt is
made into a young Bruce Willis, who in turn plays “Older Joe”. When Younger Joe finds out his loop has
been closed and he must “kill himself”, e knows there is no other choice, but
the wiser version of him goes on the run trying to alter his destiny by eliminating
the source of this madness. In the
quest to kill the future leader of the “underworld”, who is a kid in present
day, Older Joe must faced the conflicting desires and expectations of his
younger self, making this more about a mirror confrontations between what he
could have been and what he came to be. A dissertation on how our ideals,
morals, and self-perception changes with the years, what doesn’t chance is the
baggage. “Looper” is a constant struggle between what’s immovable and what is cyclical.
This duality reaches its peak in a scene in which both Joes
sit face to face at “their” favorite Dinner. The dialogue is just out-of-this-world
clever, like a dad and his son talking about youth and the wisdom of older age.
Their likes and dislikes, the reason to learn French then Chinese, and most
importantly their arrogance and selfishness and how love can cure them. The
same person in two bodies, from different times, yet they seem as if they had
nothing in common. This is conflicting views on the world in one single mind is
what everyone experiences as we grow old. The evolution that takes a lifetime
seen reflected in this man divided 30 years. It is indeed a wonderfully written script, the sci-fi veil
is there to give a tangible explanation to this existential question, but the
real story is completely grounded on the present. Why do we become what we are?
Are we predetermined to be good or bad? Or can our lives be changed by a single
altering event? Deeply powerful stuff. Having ranted about these philosophical
aspects of the film, it never lacks thrills; chases and telekinetic explosions
that make you think slow motion was invented for this. I must mention that the
cinematography is excellent, a futuristic movie taking place in vast fields and
rural settings, becoming a visual clash between past and future. Adding just
one more layer to the artisan approach writer/director Rian Johnson took to
make this film. His casting being
another good decision, all three major performances, including Emily Blunt as
“Sara”, the mother of the child who will become a vicious killer, are all
excellent. Diving into this abstract universe, but really exploring raw
humanity.
Like a great thriller “Looper” will lead you in dome
direction and then burst that bubble and blow your mind, right till the last
second. These cycles in the lives of the characters are timeless repetitions of
their choices and missteps, but as most, they are trying to change and rise
above their destined sufferings. Joe will have to see himself as the source of
his own misfortune and confront that sometimes the only way to change the end
of the story is to scratch off the beginning. Highly, highly recommended. What
would you do if your worse threat were yourself? This new time travel flick is
now in theaters. Grade A.
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