Cloverfield: Review

By the time of it's release, Cloverfield had become something more than a movie. Through brilliant marketing campaigns, viral and otherwise, producer JJ Abrams has crafted a monster movie that quite frankly, can't be ignored. However, with all the hype comes higher expectations yet, as Abrams has continued to do time and time again in recent years, he and his team have crafted a monster thriller that, while not entirely successful, is one of the first major reasons in 2008 to get out to your nearest multiplex. With a ferocious visceral intensity that feels pleasantly out of place for a wide January release, Cloverfield is a triumph of genre moviemaking that should please audiences looking for relief from the seriousness of Oscar season.

Directed by Matt Reeves, Cloverfield is not unlike its monster predecessors in its narrative but in its means of storytelling, it refreshing in its 21st century technique. Shot using handheld digital cameras designed to give the feel of a digital camcorder, Cloverfield tells that story of a group of mid-twenties who have their going away party for a friend interrupted by the arrival of a giant beast. At the group's core is Rob (Michael Stahl-David, who is supposed to leave for a new job in Japan the next day, yet thanks to the marauding fiend currently wrecking New York City, it appears as if those plans may be waylaid. In their place is a new mission, to rescue his semi-girlfriend Beth (Odette Yustman), who leaves the downtown party early and is caught in a building about 40 blocks away. Coming along with Rob are his brother Jason and his fiancée Lily (Mike Vogel and Jessica Lucas), his best friend Hud (T.J. Miller) and finally, a fellow partygoer Marlena (Lizzy Caplan, of Mean Girls fame).

If the premise sounds simple, it is. No one is going to accuse Cloverfield of being the most intellectual movie currently gracing movie screens across the country but what it lacks in narrative smarts, it more than makes up for in its thrilling set pieces. As mentioned earlier, these moments are glimpsed through the handheld camera work of Hud (really shot by cinematographer Michael Bonvillain), which gives the events a you-are-there intensity. However, this should come with a warning to those with a weak stomach or easily susceptible to motion sickness: Cloverfield makes The Blair Witch Project look positively stationary. Often times, there are moments where the camera is nothing but blurry motion as the characters sprint ahead, trying to stay out of danger. It will undoubtedly annoy some viewers but for those accustomed to watching videos on YouTube, the camerawork of Cloverfield will become practically invisible as the story heats up.

Throughout, the film takes on an impromptu, on the spot style that feels largely improvised and spontaneous. The strength of this film was never going to be and never will be its script or acting. In fact, the script is a combination of drab, predictable dialogue saved by a brilliant premise. The amazing part comes in that the audience didn't seem to mind the general lack of decent dialogue. The film, quite frankly, doesn't seem to mind either. It's focus is on putting as many thrills as possible on the screen in its short 85 minute runtime. This will, once again, cause some to complain but given the technical restraints of a camcorder tape, it is a brilliant move to keep the film at its length. As it is, it grabs the viewer after a meandering initial 10 minutes and doesn't let go for the 75 minutes. Its economical storytelling keeps the audience moving forward from scene to scene, from thrill to thrill. Even if the nihilistic ending doesn't fully satisfy everyone (but honestly, when has a JJ Abrams associated project had an ending that does?), its scene by scene intensity makes up for it.

While it isn't the monster masterpiece it may have been made out to be, Cloverfield is an undeniable thrill ride from beginning to end. It may have felt more at home in an air conditioned July theatre but for a January release, it is a welcome change from the Rambo's and Untraceable's of the world. It will most likely annoy older viewers who will find its camerawork incomprehensible but quite frankly, that’s not the film's target audience. It knows what it wants to be and for that, it is all the more successful. Some critics have pointed out the obvious visual ties to 9/11 that are undeniable but they never hold the film down. This is a pure and simple, visceral genre film at its core and it works as that. But for those looking for something more, they best look at the abundance of thoughtful, intelligent films currently in art houses around the country because it isn't here. What is, however, is well worth the price of admission: a nail biting, fearless Godzilla for the 21st century.