10 CLOVERFIELD LANE (2016)
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2016 David N. Butterworth

*** (out of ****)

Rarely has an incredulous "Come on!" been spat with such vociferous exasperation as when delivered by Mary Elizabeth Winstead's character
Michelle in "10 Cloverfield Lane." The outcry resonates for us because we share her disbelief one hundred fold. Up until then we've been taken on a journey to some place else, not a place we were necessarily expecting, but
one rife with dramatic tension and the palpable fear of not knowing. And
then, what, this left-field shift? Come on! Only it's a good come on.
We're in Louisiana. Michelle has left her boyfriend, Ben (voice of Bradley Cooper of all people), after a tiff. She's driving at night when
she gets sideswiped by a pick-up and winds up in a ditch. She comes to in
a stark concrete basement room handcuffed to a pipe (shades of the first
"Saw" movie?) and hooked up to an IV. Her injuries appear minimal.
Enter her savior and protector, Howard Stambler (John Goodman), who
placed her here (in more ways than one). He tells her there's nobody to
call, that nobody is going to come looking for her. There *is* nobody.
There was an attack, possibly chemical, maybe nuclear, it's not clear
who--the Russians, aliens, maybe the South Koreans (he means the other
ones, the "crazy" ones) and there's deadly radiation out there but they're
safe in a bunker of his own making. The three of them, that is. There's another man, Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) who, unlike Michelle, came of his
own accord. He saw the devastation for himself, witnessed the cataclysmic event.
We spend much of the film wondering, as does Winstead's character,
whether Howard is sane or psychotic, whether he's telling the truth about
what, if anything, happened outside. Michelle sees "proof"--a couple of Howard's pigs horribly mutilated, a possibly-irradiated neighbor (Cindy
Hogan) who comes blundering up to the bunker's outside door, demanding
access, and Emmett's first-hand corroboration--yet she's not convinced.
Not until she can escape and witness the world, or what's left of it, for herself.
In 2008, producer J.J. Abrams and director Matt Reeves devised a
tricky, handheld sci-fi parable called "Cloverfield" that threw
unsuspecting audiences for a loop. "10 Cloverfield Lane" was rumored to be
a sequel to that film, and this time around director Dan Trachtenberg and
his three screenwriters (plus, I daresay, a contribution or two from co-producers Abrams and Reeves) deliver a likely scenario that keeps us guessing until the very end. Winstead and Goodman are entertainingly good enough to carry what is, essentially, a two-character piece--Gallagher is satisfactory but has less screen time.
All told, "10 Cloverfield Lane" proves to be a real meat (the bunker scenes) and potatoes (the ending) proposition. The meat is satisfying and gives you plenty to chew over but come on! Those potatoes are pretty
darned tasty too.

--
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews
butterworthdavidn@gmail.com

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)

CAPSULE: Michelle is leading a normal life when she
has a car accident and wakes up to find herself in
an underground cell that, as she is told, was why she
survived the end of the world outside. She does not
know if she should elude her captor or cooperate with
the man saved her life. This is a taut film that
flips reality and tears up your expectations of where
to think the film is going. Rating: low +2 (-4 to +4)
or 7/10

The first thing that film buffs will notice about 10 CLOVERFIELD
LANE is the title. Does the film have something to do with
producer JJ Abrams' CLOVERFIELD? That was a found-footage film
with something big attacking Manhattan. Well this film's plot may
not have anything to do with the other film. Then again, any
conclusions you draw from what you see on the screen are likely to
be wrong. This is not a found-footage film and does have one or
two stars. But the viewer is cautioned. Abrams likes to toy with
his audience. Whatever you think you have guessed about what is
going on, in five minutes things may seem entirely different and
you will likely have new theories as to what is going on. Abrams
keeps shaking the viewer's understanding around like a cat with a
field mouse.

So what do we know about what is going on? Well, Michelle (played
by Mary Elizabeth Winstead of the most recent THE THING and
currently of "Mercy Street") is leaving her husband to strike out
on her own. Driving down a dark country road suddenly her car is
hit by a pickup truck and is badly rolled end over end. When she
wakes up she has good news and bad news. The good news is that she
is not badly hurt. She will have to spend some time on crutches.
That may be a little difficult since she is chained to a wall. Not
a very nice wall either. She is in some sort of a cell with cinder
block walls. That is the bad news. But then Howard (John Goodman)
visits the cell. It seems this is not so much a little cell as a
large room in some sort of underground shelter or bunker. Howard
has brought her there as a mercy. How is it a mercy? It seems
that while she was unconscious the world as we know it has come to
an end.

Apparently there was some sort of an attack and maybe by chemical
means, maybe by nuclear means, everybody is dead. She can probably
leave, but as soon as she steps outside whatever killed off most of
the human race would probably kill her. Now what kind of a
ridiculous story is that? Well, maybe Howard has a wildly active
imagination or maybe most of the human race is gone. And evidence
keeps building on either side of the argument. John Gallagher,
Jr., plays Emmett, who shares the underground bunker and has seen
enough evidence to know that Howard is absolutely right. Or are
they both crazy?

John Goodman is best known as a comic actor. This is one of only a
few films in which he can be frightening and is imposing as a
possible dangerous psychotic. If he were just unambiguously shown
early on to be psychotic that would be one thing, but with director
Dan Trachtenberg and writers Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken and
Damien Chazelle toying with the viewer the viewer finds him/herself
straining to look at him for clues to the central question of
understanding him. Winstead is quite good in a role that is not
particularly new or cutting edge. She is the main character, but
could have been a little more complex. JJ Abrams has found a film
that would keep the budget down much as he did (differently) in
CLOVERFIELD. This is a smallish film with a limited cast. Most of
the film takes place in a bunker. But the film does seem to be
pleasing audiences in a time when so many films are overstuffed
based on comic books. I would rate 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE a low +2 on
the -4 to +4 scale or 7/10.

Film Credits:
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179933/combined>

What others are saying:
<http://tinyurl.com/mtv-10clover>


Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 2016 Mark R. Leeper

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)