Communion

Director Philippe Mora has made some bizarre movies in his time, and 'Communion' is one of the strangest. Christopher Walken plays writer Whitley Strieber who finds his life going in a very odd direction. Strieber isn't the most grounded guy in the first place - his writing technique seems to consist of putting on funny hats and pretending to be a wolf - but even his broadminded wife Anne (Mamet regular Lindsay Crouse) draws the line at freaking out at Halloween masks, pulling a gun on imaginary owls or intruders or whatever it was, and generally nutso behaviour. She convinces Whit to see a doctor, and then a psychiatrist. Under hypnosis Strieber finds out more than he is prepared for. At least he's not insane... I think.

This is one of Walken's greatest "out there" performances, as memorable as 'The Deerhunter', 'The King Of New York' and 'Wild Side'. He mumbles, grimaces, laughs, dances, twitches, stares, freaks out, charms, irritates and scares. I don't think his "Whitley Strieber" has anything to do with the real life one, but it's a sensational performance nonetheless. Walken has few rivals in screen psychos - only Dennis Hopper during his 70s excesses, or vintage Timothy Carey can rival him. Freakin' weird role in a freakin' weird movie! A must see for lovers of movie strangeness.

In 1985, sci-fi novelist Whitney Striber had a dream which led to a close encounter. It became the subject for his book 'Communion' which became a best-seller. Four years later he gives us this. True story though it may be, it is clearly too personal for Striber to manipulate (even just a little bit) to make it the right shape and form for a movie. Instead it remains too abstract, and subsequently clumsy. But that is only half the problem.

Communion wins my award for biggest miscast in cinema history. Christopher Walken does everything wrong, starting with the way he delivers his dialogue. He is not even remotely engaged in the story, he is emotionally dead. Walken is portraying somebody who went though what must've been the most traumatic experience that a person could have. The only time he comes close to showing signs of trauma is his ability to make himself cry (a little) at the end of one scene.

Next, there is the matter of visual effects. If you were to walk into a room where this was on TV, and up to the part when we meet the 'little blue doctors' and their slightly taller, skinnier red-skinned cousins, you might think you were watching an Ed Wood flick, or something from that decade. Looking at these creatures, one is more likely to think they are cute rather than creepy or surreal. Anything that looks like rubber on strings belongs in a puppet theatre, not in a sci-fi thriller.

I guess the only crew member who did a competent job in their field is Eric Clapton, who wrote a good theme for an otherwise mediocre score. Communion has much potential, but sadly it ends up being one of those films that you are glad when it is over.

This film left a lasting impression on me, which didn't wane during the second and even third viewing. I have never thought about it as an "alien-movie". (Incidentally, the word "aliens" is never once mentioned in the film.) In my opinion, it is a film about the man's reaction to the inexplicable intruding into his orderly existence. It is all about people, not aliens. Each character has their own reaction to the strange. In fact, what we see is a "pilgrim's progress", with Walken fighting against various attempts (by others and by himself) to explain it away. It is a philosophical parable, saying that any explanation would be nothing but a mask over the truth, which cannot be expressed in words. As Walken says: "This cannot be it. I didn't come all this way for you to tell me that this is it."

Ever read 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe'? Remember that scene where Peter and Susan talk to the professor because they're worried about Lucy? Lucy claims that she visited another world by stepping inside a wardrobe. The professor responds by stating quite logically, "either she is lying, she is mad, or she is telling the truth. Lucy is quite a truthful person, and one only needs to look at her to see that she is not mad. Therefore for now we must assume that she is telling the truth."

That statement perfectly describes Whitley Strieber's very strange case. If he is lying, then why has he passed numerous lie detector tests? If he is crazy, then why have numerous doctors failed to diagnose him with schizophrenia, temporal lobe epilepsy, etc. And why have numerous people had strange experiences at his cabin? As Arthur Conan Doyle once said, "Once you rule out the impossible..."

I would highly recommend people watch this very scary film. The scenes at Strieber's cabin and while he is hypnotized were really creepy. They left a lasting impression on me. Christopher Walken gives a compelling performance as Whitley Strieber (Strieber probably isn't this eccentric in real life).

I wish I could say this film was perfect but this was not so. The scenes in between the 'abduction' sequences were less compelling, and the film drags on at least ten minutes past when it should have ended. Still the film is a good introduction to the alien abduction phenomenon and to Strieber's book. It may make you leave the lights on at night.

The film depicts the personal and professional crises a writer experiences after a series of encounters with non-human beings.

The film strongly benefits from the performances of Christopher Walken and Lindsay Crouse. Walken (always engaging) manages the challenging task of making Whitley Strieber a compelling character; you care about him even if you don't necessarily like him 100% of the time. Crouse succeeds as Whitley's wife; the two together are immediately believable as a married couple.

The film is arguably the most intelligent film about the alien abduction/ visitor phenomenon. Unlike countless cheap, made-for-TV films, where the emphasis is on the sensationalistic, "shocking" aspects of the subject, COMMUNION focuses on the psychological and emotional harm the experience does. We see Strieber describe his experiences to his medical doctor, and then to a psychiatrist. Once his own mental health has been established, then (and only then) does he begin to consider the possibility that the creatures he has seen are actually real.

After questioning everyone from medical professionals to fellow abductees, Whitley realizes the only ones with the answers are the visitors themselves. At the film's climax, he willingly presents himself to the visitors. This is what makes COMMUNION transcend every other film about the phenomenon.

Director Phillipe Mora successfully creates a "you-are-there" atmosphere, letting the actors improvise a lot of their dialogue. There are two distinct moods: one, where things are brightly lit, secure, and normal; and secondly, the dark, unsettling world Strieber inhabits only with himself and with the visitors. Mora's direction is subtle, with cues in both the dialogue and a detailed, occasionally wry visual style.

Another plus is Eric Clapton's opening and closing theme music.

This is a seriously underrated film.

The director's cut (with commentary by Mora) is recommended.