12 Monkeys

Due to a viral outbreak in the year 1997, the human population of Earth has retreated underground to survive. The animals rule the planet surface. Convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) is assigned "volunteer" duty, a survey of the surface. He is able to return from the surface, and meets with the ruling council of scientists, who are working on a way to return the human race to the surface. They send him back in time to stop the spread of the virus. First they send him back to 1990, a mistake that puts him in a mental institution with Jeffrey Goins (Brad Pitt) with whom he shares about the fate of the human race. This meeting sets off a chain reaction that ends, in one possible future, with the creation and release of the virus responsible for the outbreak. Or does it?

Terry Gilliam's bleak world is felt throughout the picture. For instance, the film takes place during winter, underground during the future sequences. The sets, costumes, and photography paint a hopeless universe as Cole fights against the odds to right the world and stop the virus. The color schemes are earth tones, metallic shades, painting a cold world, along with the winter landscape. However, as the film goes on and Cole begins to hope for a life outside of his mission, Kathryn Railey (Madeline Stowe) and Cole's costumes take on a brighter color scheme.

Very notable is Brad Pitt's Jeffrey Goins. Pitt struts with a powerful presence oozing with insanity. He easily steals each scene from whomever he shares the screen with. It's this film that put him on my radar in the first place, and it's his performance that makes this movie one of my brother, Adam, and my favorite films. In fact we quote some of his lines quite frequently. Also brilliantly done is Bruce Willis' James Cole, he's perfectly disoriented and wonderful. His child-like performance when he arrives in the past paints a wonderland of ideas and thoughts. In another nicely-executed part, is Dr. Goins' assistant, played chillingly by David Morse.

Time travel films are an interesting adventure. Wrapping your head around the causal nexus of events and figuring out who is the cause has the potential to drive the audience as insane as Jeffrey. However, this is the reason this film intrigues me. I enjoy the reconstruction of events in the end. And 12 Monkeys allows just that in the conclusion.

***

IN: Bruce Willis

OUT: Brad Pitt

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