8 mm

Every time I think of Joel Schumacher I cringe. Is Batman & Robin really so bad that it makes me want to disregard the rest of his films? He's not a bad director, hell I enjoy some of his work, yet I still cringe when I hear his name. Let's take a look at 8MM, something that is the polar opposite of B&R.

It stars Nic Cage as a private investigator, hired to find out if the content on an 8MM tape found in a safe of a recently deceased millionaire is real. The tape is referred to as a snuff film, which is a pornographic film that ends with the murder of the female. So, already we have ourselves a pretty dark and disturbing film here. Yet, as I watched it I felt that is played it a little too safe.

Upon research you will find out the writer and the director had a falling out over the film. The studio wanted it to be a bit lighter, and the director agreed. While the writer, who also wrote Se7en, wanted to keep the gritty disturbing feel he had originally wrote. The final product is a film that tries to be more hardcore then it actually is.

Nic Cage really seemed to be playing by the numbers here. He is more monotone then usual I thought and didn't really seem invested in his character. Joaquin Phoenix on the other hand immerses himself into this world. Playing the sidekick who is smarter then he looks. The supporting cast also includes James Gandolfini, doing what he does best and Peter Stormare. Both stretch out beyond the page and embody their characters. With Gandolfini, we've seen him do this character before. But with every performance there is just one little thing that makes them all seem different every time.

I was really underwhelmed with this flick. It was a bit longer then it needed to be, just over 2 hours. You go along for the investigative ride and are interested with the story, but at the end you just feel empty. Never connecting with the relationship between the main character and his wife he neglects. Some scenes that were meant to be powerful came off as comedic to me, specifically the "Give me permission to hurt them" bit near the end.

I did enjoy the film, but wanted more. The ingredients were there to make a really good film, but the final product falls a bit flat. It's a rental, or if you are really a big fan of anyone involved . I will say this though, I wouldn't mind if Cage went back to making movies like this instead of the filler he's been cranking out the last few years.

When it came out, "8mm" became notorious for its dark and perverted subject matter. Any and all warnings that are given in association with this film are warranted: this is a dark, dark, thriller, and one that revels in a lot of sordid subject matter. How this was never threatened with an NC-17 is beyond me.

Tom Welles (Nicholas Cage) is a well-respected private detective. One day, he gets a call from a recently widowed, and exceedingly wealthy woman named Mrs. Christian (Myra Carter). It seems that when Mrs. Christian was going through her husbands things, she came across a film reel that appears to be a "snuff film" (a "snuff film is where someone is actually murdered on screen, not merely acting like it). Tom is hired to find out if the film is actually real.

Andrew Kevin Walker wrote the suspense hit "Seven," and the two films bear a number of similarities. Both deal with grisly and bizarre subject matter, and take no prisoners when they show it all. But "Seven" had something that "8mm" doesn't: a sense of atmosphere. Try as he might, director Joel Schumaker can't establish an ominous atmosphere, which mutes the film's impact.

The acting varies. Nicholas Cage is effective as Tom Welles, though that's to be expected because this is a role that Cage could play in his sleep. Joaquin Phoenix shines as Max California, the porn star clerk who becomes Tom's sidekick. The rest of the cast is not so great. James Gandolfini is okay as Eddie Poole, but Peter Stormare (Dino Velvet, a mysterious hard-core porn producer), Anthony Heald as Mrs. Christian's lawyer, Daniel Longdale, (looking strikingly similar to Geraldo Rivera) and Catherine Keener (Tom's neurotic wife)are awful.

"8mm" works, but it's not masterpiece. The story is easy to follow, as long as you don't stop to think about how the film gets from one scene to the next. But the final 20 minutes are bad; they're not credible, and everyone acts like they've lost their brains.

"Seven" contained an ingenious twist ending, and while "8mm" doesn't offer that, it takes a few unexpected turns, and the story is not formulaic.

This is a good film, but not a great one. Recommended, if you can get it for cheap.

8MM is a very dark, disturbing film that isn't for everyone. Nicolas Cage puts in an excellent performance as a private detective named Tom Welles who is hired to investigate whether a snuff film is real or acted. His journey takes him farther and farther into the realm of pornography. Every minute of this film is suspenseful and riveting. I also found Joaquin Phoenix's performance to be outstanding as well. This movie does a wonderful job of creating a dark mood and exploring the motives and drives behind its characters. One of Cage's best, and a severely under-rated film.

I'll never forget first seeing this film in the theater. When I heard that this film was written by the same writer as "Seven", I expected a truly sick and twisted film. Now don't get me wrong, this most certainly is a sick and twisted film, but it wasn't nearly as graphic as I expected. Maybe that is due to this film having a different director, but nonetheless the film wasn't as graphic as I'd expected. With that said, and having watched this film a number of times, I still wouldn't recommend this film to everyone. If you like thrillers and can handle the subject of pornography and "snuff" films, then you should definitely give this film a chance.

I'm a little surprised that this film has such a low rating on IMDB. I can see why someone wouldn't like it, but I can't see why it would have such a low rating. I would assume that most viewers couldn't handle the subject and therefore gave the film a low rating.

All of the actors involved in this film did a very good job. Nicholas Cage was great as always (sometimes a little over-acting, but most of the time he was great). James Gandolfini, Joaquin Phoenix, Peter Storemare, Anthony Heald, Catherine Keener, and the rest of the supporting cast all pulled off solid performances.

Joel Schumacher really needs to stick with films like this. He really does a great job with thriller/drama type films (and needs to steer clear of certain super-hero films). Joel did a great job with this film and I look forward to his next work.

The only complaint I have about the film is the music. There were some times were the music was perfect or tolerable, but there were others where it was just horrible and detracted from the film. Some of the music in the film was too bizarre and didn't fit with the film.

Like I said, I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, but I thought this was an excellent film. I hope you enjoy the film. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

When I watched 8 MM, I didn't know what to expect, but I noticed that Joel Schumacher directed it and I am a fan of his. Also it stars two other terrific actors like Nicholas Cage and Joaquin Phoenix, so usually that equals a great film. 8 MM turned out to be a terrific dark drama that I'm not so sure that I understand it's low rating. I was actually expecting it to be in the 7.0 range when I went to check it out on IMDb, but it's in the low 6.0's. I understand that it's an extremely dark movie that not too many people would wanna take a look at, but for what it was, I thought it was great. It took us into the deep dark world of porn and what some sick people get off on. It's not just about that, but also it takes us into a detective type of drama that makes it into a scary type of thriller.

Tom Welles is a detective that is given a strange short movie called a "snuff film", where a beautiful young girl is being brutally raped and then murdered on film. While it's supposed to be fake, it looks incredibly real and terrifying. Her relative asks him to find out wither it is fake or real and if she's still alive. This means he has to go deep into a world of brutal porn that is out of his league. With the help of a porn salesman, Max, they go to find out if this girl is really alive or not, but end up getting into some serious trouble when the directors and "actors" find out about them.

8 MM is in no way for the faint of heart, there are some extremely disturbing images that I really wouldn't like to see again, I'm sure most wouldn't either, but this is a great dark drama that I would recommend for a watch. Nicholas did a great job, but Joaquin really takes the show here. He made his character incredibly believable and almost sympathetic. Joel really made me believe the story, he shot it wonderfully and didn't over do anything. I would recommend this film for a watch, it's a great thriller that is impressive as well as scary.

8/10