Looper (2012)

Looper

Year: 2012

Director: Rian Johnson

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Jeff Daniels, Piper Perabo

Before I begin my review….

                For those of you who don’t know me personally, I recently became a mum for the first time.

My baby boy was born nearly five months ago and just as everyone warned me, many things have changed. I have completely changed in the way which I see a lot of things in life and I actually believe for the better. One thing I was not prepared for was that the way I watch certain films has also changed.

                Not all films, but those films that have anything to do with children strike a chord with me now. I guess that is to be expected when you are a mother, but it wasn’t one of the things I contemplated in the nine months leading up to my little man’s birth when I was more concerned with picking out nursery furniture and trying to store sleep (as so many people love to tell you how little sleep you will receive when the baby comes….true fact, but you don’t need complete strangers telling you that all the time).

                In particular, Looper is one movie that probably wouldn’t have affected me on an emotional level as much if I wasn’t a mother. I found the relationship between mother, Sara and son, Cid completely heartbreaking at times. Looper can be categorized as an action/ thriller, and I never thought a film in one of these genres would make me feel when leaving as though I had just watched a drama. I am pretty sure that director, Rian Johnson was trying to evoke an emotional response from his audience, but I think as a perhaps it would make the parents more emotional. If I am anything to go by anyway.

                I think I should be getting ready for a lot more of these unprecedented responses in the future from the films I will be watching and reviewing.

Review

                Looper is one of the most original films you will see this year. Not a perfect film, but very clever, entertaining and original nevertheless.

                Rian Johnson has tackled a completely new genre in Looper and has approached this action/thriller film with the same originality he approached his earlier films such as Brick and The Brothers Bloom with. This combination has created something we haven’t seen before and is a well-made and entertaining original.

                The year is 2044 and time travel is made possible in 30 years time. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) works as a looper, which are hit-men who are hired to take care of those sent back to the current year. The worst part about being a looper is when your future self is sent back for you to kill which is known as closing the loop. When Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) is sent back, he is sent on a chase to save his life, but meet the death of his self in 30 years time.

                   The story and screenplay of Looper is extremely interesting. The script is effective as although the concept may seem like a complex one, it makes it easy for the audience to grasp early on in the film what everything and everyone is so no one is left confused. It is an entrancing concept which draws everyone in and the visuals on the screen compliment the screenplay to make the film very slick and presentable.

          Johnson’s direction is very good in the way in which the film is shown visually. The editing provides a clever way of linking both Joe’s present and future self, which can come across as confusing at first, but all lose ends are sewn up by the end of the film.

           There is no doubt that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a very good actor, he does a very good Bruce Willis. He has obviously studied the way that Willis holds himself and his facial expressions. However, although he sat in the make-up chair for at least two and a half hours each day before filming began, it can be a little distracting. It can sometimes look as though Gordon-Levitt is struggling to move his face under the make-up. The make-up artists did give it a good go considering Gordon-Levitt and Willis don’t really look a thing alike.

             Bruce Willis is just Bruce Willis. There is nothing in this film that he does that hasn’t been done before. It is just another action role with some anger moments.  Unlike Gordon-Levitt, he doesn’t meet in the middle to compliment Gordon-Levitt.

            Emily Blunt is splendid. She is completely believable as Sara, the doting mother of Cid (Pierce Gagnon). Gagnon is also wonderful. You immediately feel sorry for the little boy and the chemistry between him and Blunt is perfect.  For the brief moment there is supposed to be chemistry between Gordon-Levitt and Blunt, it falls flat.

             Pure originality is not something that is popular in film today so Looper is completely refreshing. Rian Johnson must be congratulated and doing such a good job with a brand new and entertaining concept.

8/10

 

References
 The Internet Movie Database
MTV
BC Blog Critics