"Brilliant at times and infuriating at others, The Cell is one of the more
audacious projects to hit the screen in recent times. The filmmakers’ stated
intention was to take the idea behind The Silence of the Lambs one step further and to
literally go inside a killer’s mind. However, this may be simply marketing hype. The
Cell explores many radically different themes from The Silence of the Lambs; and does so
in ways that challenge our perceptions of film as art. The hallucinogenic "mind"
sequences are not a particularly new idea – Hitchcock used similar sequences in
Spellbound and Vertigo – but director Tarsem Singh takes them to new heights of both
style and weirdness. The script poses more questions than it answers, but this is in a way
more satisfying than having trite solutions presented on a platter. If there is a failing
with the film, it’s the lack of a consistent stance. It starts out as something of a
plea for understanding and research into the causes of mental illness and violent
behaviour; but ends up seemingly endorsing capital punishment – a strange combination
to say the least. The performances are uniformly good, with D’Onofrio outstanding as
the seriously deranged killer. While the visuals are dazzling (and occasionally
disturbing) it would be a mistake to let their flash obscure the complexities of the
intense psychological drama. Although The Cell certainly isn’t the most accessible
film, it is one of the most intriguing works from a first time director this year."
David Edwards
"All dressed up with nowhere much to go, The Cell is an initially intriguing thriller
which fails to build on its imaginative premise. The signs are encouraging at first as
Lopez wanders through a spectacular desert scene attempting to connect with the
subconscious of a comatose boy. His rich father (Patrick Bauchau) is impatient and there's
no proof this "Neurological Cartography and Synaptic Transfer System" works
outside of former social worker Lopez's say-so. Enter serial killer D'Onofrio (always
reliable playing degenerate dirt-bags) and a sub-Silence Of The Lambs serial killer plot
and things slowly head downhill. For all its remarkable visuals, The Cell simply doesn't
have what it takes to work as a thriller. There's barely a genuine scare or a decent build
up of tension as Lopez navigates the windmills of D'Onofrio's mind and dreams, only to
encounter him as a frightened young boy most of the time. Even when she (and later Vaughn)
meet the grown-up version the purpose seems only to dazzle us with effects and design
which Peter Greenaway would be proud of. Unfortunately it's at the expense of the frisson
we paid for at the door. Rock clip and commercials director Tarsem knows how to compose
arresting images; it's a pity he hasn't dosed himself up with some inspiration from a film
like Hellraiser to make this journey a scary one."
Richard Kuipers
"All the wandering around in somebody else’s dream – and musing on the
possible effects on one’s own reality – reminds me of Lewis Carroll’s
Through The Looking Glass. It might seem odd to draw analogies between Tarsem’s
outré images of horror and the beloved children’s fable, but Carroll always did
display a subtly grim sense of humour – even in Wonderland, there is a joking aside
about death as Alice hurtles down the well. That being said, Tarsem’s imagination is
a lot uglier than Alice’s, and Jennifer Lopez an altogether different type of heroin.
Even Roald Dahl would agree that this is no children’s tale, and many adults may find
it difficult to stomach (indeed there’s some literally visceral imagery to deal
with). Purely in visual terms there are more obvious influences here: Hieronymous Bosch,
Francis Bacon, Damien Hirst (in whose vogue a grisly gallery piece is instantly created),
Terry Gilliam and the nightmarish poetry of Po. It is Tarsem’s ability to take these
influences and create something stunningly imaginative that warrants merit,
notwithstanding the many meretricious indulgences. There’s simply no question that as
a drama the film would struggle to rate alongside a lowly episode of The Outer Limits.
It’s cliche-ridden, schlocky cyber-sci-fi. Not too much blame can be attached to the
cast, who do a moderate job with some woeful dialogue. But Tarsem’s feature film
debut (he comes to cinema as an award-winning video clip director; and in many ways it
shows) suggests he is capable of establishing himself as a visual stylist on the darker
side of Jean-Pierre Juneaut. This is a film born to be controversial, and create a
dichotomy among critics and public alike. The inevitable accusations of pretentiousness
are not without substance, but cinema desperately needs some non-effects driven
flamboyance, and this is a radical departure from standard Hollywood horror."
Brad Green
