June 20, 2002

Minority Report
(20th Century Fox) Rated PG-13
Release Date - June 21, 2002

Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report is the best barbecue you’ve had all year and the best you are likely to have until Gangs of New York in December or The Matrix-im next summer. 

From the very first frames of Minority Report, it is clear that Steven Spielberg has achieved what he failed to achieve last summer with A.I.  His newest film is the perfect balance between the work of Stanley Kubrick’s vision and his own vision of film storytelling.  Much of the movie is not recognizably “Spielbergian.”  He’s moving the camera differently, simplifying, roughing up his edges.  The production design, which is remarkable in its own right, also has the distinct icy precision of Kubrick.  And then there is the John Williams score, which references classical music instead of the usual John Williams bravado.

That is, all things are Kubrickian until the film starts morphing in some pure and true Spielberg in the second act.  The result is a more classic form of filmmaking, more and more story driven as the film progresses.  And the strokes are wonderful.  But it leaves Stanley’s ghost behind.  And with that ghost goes some of the depth that might have made Minority Report a true classic of American cinema.  The core moral issues of pre-crime and emotional loss become story points – again, really good story points.  But one has to wonder how Kubrick would have hit the notes that would have made “Pre-Cog” rights more of an issue or balanced the monolithic federal government of this film with more complex ambiguities than the ones we get to see. 

One of the film’s highlights is Lois Smith as Dr. Hineman.  After seeing the film a second time, it occurred to me that the character could easily be seen as an homage to Kubrick.  Dr. Hineman is an unmitigated genius that has chosen, after giving something singular and powerful to the world, to hide out in a hyper-botanical cottage.  When she sees a human for the first time in what we can assume is a long time, she says, “I don’t have visitors.”  Of course, Kubrick’s isolationism was a bit overstated by the press.  But the idea of the genius in repose, still knowing more than the rest, still the smartest one at the dance… very Kubrick. 

The supporting performers in Minority Report are excellent.  I wasn’t too thrilled to see celebrity cameos by Catherine Keener and Lucy Liu (if it really was them… was it?).  The appearance on Cameron Crowe was actually made more important by the addition of Cameron Diaz.  They appear as two passengers on a subway as Cruise’s character starts his journey down the rabbit hole and one could easily argue that the Vanilla Sky duo represent the feeling that he is in some sort of horrible nightmare, a reflection of the story in their film.  The most subtle celebrity hire was Jessica Harper, who is a great veteran actress and the wife of Fox studio chief Tom Rothman.  This is her first film role in five years.  Her scenes as Anne Lively – and this is why I think she was hired, not out of nepotism – are curiously reflective of Dario Argento’s Suspiria, in which she starred.

Max Von Sydow is still one of the greats.  Peter Stormare and Caroline Lagerfelt team up for Spielberg’s most brilliantly odd sequence since the subtle (and apologized for) fetishism of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  Tim Blake Nelson is creepy and realistic, even in a role that pushes right to the edge of the cartoony style of Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall (for which Minority Report was originally destined to be the sequel).  Daniel London as the caretaker of the Pre-Cogs is just perfect.  And Jason Antoon, who has a small part in Minority Report and will be in the upcoming Sandra Bullock/Hugh Grant film (credits not contractual), is unforgettable as a scumbag cyber parlor owner, one of whose customer happens to be screenwriter Scott Frank, who is being told, “You the man” by a cyber cadre of people. 

Colin Farrell, however, was an iffy choice.  It’s no fault of his.  He does have, in my opinion, what is necessary to be a movie star.   However, he needs to play the roles that a younger Kevin Costner played.  He is missing the kind of edge that was necessary to hit a home run with what was a slightly underwritten role.  Some of his character development could be on the cutting room floor.  He plays a guy who is a political threat to Cruise and the whole Pre-Crime project.  But he’s not enough younger than Cruise for there to be a generational conflict and he lacks the angry edge as an actor to make him feel inherently dangerous.  It’s not that he can’t play anger.  But he seems like the kind of guy who gets it out… who plays it straight.  This role needs a snake.  A young James Woods, the dangerous-seeming Vin Diesel, even a moody Heath Ledger.  In any case, while not a liability, Farrell doesn’t offer the star turn that would add a few points to the film on the grading scale.

Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski does wonderful work in conjunction with a vast array of locations, all of which have wildly different demands.  Production Designer Alex McDowell, whose ass is probably still warm from the well-deserved kissing it took for his work on Fight Club and Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, probably owns the Oscar right now.  His work is simply perfection.  Costume Designer Deborah Scott doesn’t overdo the futurism, spurning the “look how different” mistakes of decades of futurist movies.  And editor Michael Kahn keeps is all moving.

Minority Report is as taut and clever as any sci-fi entertainment you’ll find, but has some weight, with underlying themes of morality.   Oscar’s name has been bandied about.  This is what I think… no, not really.  A great summer movie… Minority Report will be all over the technical nods.  You won’t see better production design this year.  The sound was spectacular… the footsteps on the hood of a car as Cruise jumps from vehicle to vehicle… great stuff.   Some of the visual effects are not necessarily as cutting edge as, say, Attack of the Clones, but they are so smart that attention must be paid. 

And then, there is Samantha Morton, who gives a performance with a depth of emotion that just floors the viewer… and brings out Cruise’s emotionalism better than any co-star he’s had in years.   It would be a great challenge to overstate the complexity of the performance Morton gives, when she is limited to screaming, being “comatose” and shivering a lot.  But she is absolutely stunning.   The only actress I’ve seen this decade capable of reaching Morton’s ethereal heights is Cate Blanchett.  And that’s high praise from me, indeed. 

Great summer fare…