By Gerry Gallo
Story
Following a trail of bodies, FBI agent Peter Novak (
Vince Vaughn) tracks down and captures disturbed serial killer Carl Stargher (
Vincent D'Onofrio) in
The Cell. Before Carl can reveal the whereabouts of his final victim (a woman trapped in a cell on the verge of drowning), he has a seizure and falls into a coma. Enter psychologist Catherine Deane (
Lopez), who tries a radical new therapy. Using a chemical link to Carl's brain that could destroy her own sanity, Catherine agrees to enter the labyrinthine kingdom that is the mind of this madman. Her mission: Find the cell's location before time runs out, and avoid getting trapped inside the killer's head.
Acting
Jennifer Lopez looks a bit dazed and confused as she reacts to the wild and weird visuals, but manages to keep a straight face with a wardrobe from Mars.
Vaughn squeezes as much quirk as possible from his flatly written character, and graduates to believable hero status. As the killer,
D'Onofrio has little to do but shoulder the weight of lavish costumes and numerous prosthetic piercings. Still, his oft-altered voice and unpredictable nature make him a quite menacing villain.
Direction
The true star of the film, commercial and music-video director
Tarsem ("Losing My Religion"), makes his feature-film debut here. His origins are abundantly clear in the fantastic, mind-bending imagery mixed with static acting and minimal dialogue. Inspired by non sequitur dream imagery and artwork from the likes of Hieronymous Bosch and M.C. Escher,
Tarsem has created some of the most exquisite and phantasmic visuals put on celluloid yet. Come Oscar time, keep an eye out for costume and art direction nods.