A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:
I always endeavor to keep my reviews spoiler free. However, there is little point to discussing Splice without referring to certain moments that occur late in the film; I don’t ever explicitly reveal plot details, but I do hint at them. I actually had this movie spoiled for me ahead of time, something that I feel had an enormously detrimental effect on my viewing experience. Therefore, if you are planning on seeing Splice (something I do recommend), I suggest that you read ONLY the first two paragraphs. Consider yourself warned
Genre: Science Fiction
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Starring: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac
Running Time: 104 minutes (plus trailers)
“Human cloning is illegal. This won’t be human. Not entirely”
If movies have taught me one thing, it is that scientists are totally incapable of foreseeing the negative consequences of their actions. Sure, you have the technology to genetically resurrect the dinosaurs, but is it really a good idea to put them on display in a theme-park? Fine, you’ve come up with a device capable of teleporting living things; don’t you think you should test it on something other than yourself? In Splice, Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley play Clive and Elsa, the two latest nominees for the Dr. Frankenstein medal for most idiotic scientific movie cock-up. Their plan is to secretly combine human and animal DNA, creating an entirely new species that would potentially contain proteins capable of revolutionizing modern medicine. A noble goal perhaps, but when Elsa develops an attachment to the new-born creature, things quickly start to go pear-shaped. When a movie features characters who regularly spout the phrase “what’s the worst that could happen”, I don’t think you need to be a scientist to guess that ‘the worst’ gets pretty damn bad.
Like many movies of this ilk, Splice has the moralizing and social commentary; it asks the questions about what is right and what is wrong, and how far should you go in the name of scientific discovering. However these ideas have all been explored better in other films, and the movie wisely drops them after about the first twenty minutes. Where Splice really succeeds is as a twisted parable about parenthood – once the creature is born she rapidly begins to age, going from baby to toddler to teenager in a matter of weeks. The relationships between Clive, Elsa and their surrogate daughter, who Elsa christens “Dren”, evolves and shifts as the movie progresses, before finally exploding in the last half hour. Writer/director Vincenzo Natali takes this story to some extremely disturbing places, and I think whether this movie works or doesn’t work for you will depend largely on its final act.
And certainly, what happens in a certain scene – people who have seen the movie will instantly know the one I am referring to – is conceptually repulsive, on every possible level. Despite this, during its execution, I wasn’t nearly as shocked or disturbing as I think I should have been. There is a moment earlier on in the film, in which two characters are dancing, that I thought was the highlight of the entire movie: that sequence is so uncomfortable that I was literally squirming in my seat. When the ideas raised there were finally payed off, I was expecting something truly visually horrific; instead I thought the big scene fell almost totally flat. I’m not sure if it was the way Natali shoots it, whether I didn’t believe it would happen in real life, whether my prior knowledge ruined the shock, or if I’m just plain desensitized, but I actually found myself wishing for the balls out (pun definitely intended) depravity of something like Antichrist, a movie that, for all its flaws, provided a far more tangible feeling of disgust.
I like it when a filmmaker depicts something taboo, but there is something very disappointing about a filmmaker trying only to fail. Many people might disagree with me, but I didn’t find Splice nearly disturbing enough. Once you cross a line, you may as well go all the way, and at the end of the day I found myself made more uncomfortable by the final act of Get Him To The Greek than I was by anything that this film showed me. Never the less, the movie is still a pretty decent piece of original science fiction, and I applaud Natali for at least trying to be provocative. Finally, praise must be given to French actress Delphine Chanéac, who plays Dren. Although her character has no dialogue, Chanéac facial expressions and body language are extremely expressive, and the bizarre physical mannerisms she adopts will have you believing that she really is not quite human.
Splice is now playing in select theatres around Australia.
I always endeavor to keep my reviews spoiler free. However, there is little point to discussing Splice without referring to certain moments that occur late in the film; I don’t ever explicitly reveal plot details, but I do hint at them. I actually had this movie spoiled for me ahead of time, something that I feel had an enormously detrimental effect on my viewing experience. Therefore, if you are planning on seeing Splice (something I do recommend), I suggest that you read ONLY the first two paragraphs. Consider yourself warned
Genre: Science Fiction
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Starring: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac
Running Time: 104 minutes (plus trailers)
“Human cloning is illegal. This won’t be human. Not entirely”
If movies have taught me one thing, it is that scientists are totally incapable of foreseeing the negative consequences of their actions. Sure, you have the technology to genetically resurrect the dinosaurs, but is it really a good idea to put them on display in a theme-park? Fine, you’ve come up with a device capable of teleporting living things; don’t you think you should test it on something other than yourself? In Splice, Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley play Clive and Elsa, the two latest nominees for the Dr. Frankenstein medal for most idiotic scientific movie cock-up. Their plan is to secretly combine human and animal DNA, creating an entirely new species that would potentially contain proteins capable of revolutionizing modern medicine. A noble goal perhaps, but when Elsa develops an attachment to the new-born creature, things quickly start to go pear-shaped. When a movie features characters who regularly spout the phrase “what’s the worst that could happen”, I don’t think you need to be a scientist to guess that ‘the worst’ gets pretty damn bad.Like many movies of this ilk, Splice has the moralizing and social commentary; it asks the questions about what is right and what is wrong, and how far should you go in the name of scientific discovering. However these ideas have all been explored better in other films, and the movie wisely drops them after about the first twenty minutes. Where Splice really succeeds is as a twisted parable about parenthood – once the creature is born she rapidly begins to age, going from baby to toddler to teenager in a matter of weeks. The relationships between Clive, Elsa and their surrogate daughter, who Elsa christens “Dren”, evolves and shifts as the movie progresses, before finally exploding in the last half hour. Writer/director Vincenzo Natali takes this story to some extremely disturbing places, and I think whether this movie works or doesn’t work for you will depend largely on its final act.
And certainly, what happens in a certain scene – people who have seen the movie will instantly know the one I am referring to – is conceptually repulsive, on every possible level. Despite this, during its execution, I wasn’t nearly as shocked or disturbing as I think I should have been. There is a moment earlier on in the film, in which two characters are dancing, that I thought was the highlight of the entire movie: that sequence is so uncomfortable that I was literally squirming in my seat. When the ideas raised there were finally payed off, I was expecting something truly visually horrific; instead I thought the big scene fell almost totally flat. I’m not sure if it was the way Natali shoots it, whether I didn’t believe it would happen in real life, whether my prior knowledge ruined the shock, or if I’m just plain desensitized, but I actually found myself wishing for the balls out (pun definitely intended) depravity of something like Antichrist, a movie that, for all its flaws, provided a far more tangible feeling of disgust.I like it when a filmmaker depicts something taboo, but there is something very disappointing about a filmmaker trying only to fail. Many people might disagree with me, but I didn’t find Splice nearly disturbing enough. Once you cross a line, you may as well go all the way, and at the end of the day I found myself made more uncomfortable by the final act of Get Him To The Greek than I was by anything that this film showed me. Never the less, the movie is still a pretty decent piece of original science fiction, and I applaud Natali for at least trying to be provocative. Finally, praise must be given to French actress Delphine Chanéac, who plays Dren. Although her character has no dialogue, Chanéac facial expressions and body language are extremely expressive, and the bizarre physical mannerisms she adopts will have you believing that she really is not quite human.Splice is now playing in select theatres around Australia.
