Stalking Venus

I think that a lot of people who rate eXistenZ as a bad movie, haven’t noticed its subtleties. I’ve found that it’s an incredibly layered and detailed film, that poses as budget sci-fi. A post at io9 made me decide to write some of my thoughts on this down. I’ve been meaning to set down my thoughts on this movie for ages, and this post at io9 finally spurred me to do it.

The layering of the film is hinted at right from the opening credits; an astoundingly tactile series of layered graphics set to music that sets the whole tone of the movie immediately. The layered theme is continued throughout the film; not just in the plot, but (more importantly) in the details, such as the sound, lighting, set design and costuming.

Below are a few examples of things that aren’t immediately apparent that I’ve had to point out to friends watching this film.

• The fact that in the opening scenes, nobody is wearing any sort of jewellery and all of the clothes are very plain and muted. It’s easy to make assumptions about the era in which the film is set. These assumptions are immediately challenged by Pikul’s holographic pass card.

• The scene in the Land Rover. Watch the background outside the car. It moves in the same sort of way that it would have in a film made 15 or 20 years ago. In fact, this is the single biggest fact I’ve seen in people who haven’t enjoyed the film: What they thought was bad film making technique was intentional and designed to hint that the characters were already in a game; which leads me to…

• The scene where the tooth bullet is removed: This is masterly. The lighting is perfect, in that it’s not perfect. You’d never get lighting that looks like that in a natural scene, yet it’s so subtly ‘off’ that many people don’t even notice it. Everything looks slightly too high-contrast, heightening the sense of unreality.

• In addition to this (and hey, maybe this isn’t intentional, but it’s Cronenberg, so my guess is that it was carefully intended), just listen to the soundtrack of the scene where the bullet is removed. Close your eyes and listen to what’s being said and how it’s being said. Now imagine you’re actually watching porn. What is said, the way it’s said and everything is pretty porno. This carries on for quite a while, and the same semi-veiled sexuality is a huge theme in the film (most obviously expressed when Pikul says, “I have a sorta thing about having my body penetrated”)

• The lighting at the gas station is also pretty surreal. Allegra throws pebbles at the pump and shows amazement. Now for me, this was quite obvious, but I can’t tell you how many people I have shown this film to who don’t realise that Allegra is amazed at the realism of the game they are already in. The pebbles plinking off the petrol pumps, the lighting (again), the texture of the paint peeling from the walls, and the little two-headed frog all appeal to her out-of-game person’s sense of wonder.

• This is a stretch, but an amusing one, all things considered. Pikul’s name could be an allusion to PiHKAL, the famous text by Dr. Alexander Shulgin, which details the synthesis of hundreds of psychoactive compounds; many of which he invented.

• Allegra’s changing hairstyle – Not a continuity error, but one of the more obvious planned changes to show the differences between ‘worlds’.

It’s hard to pick a favourite scene from this film. Like many ‘cult’ movies, this is one that’s eminently quotable:

• Pikul: “We’re both stumbling around together in this unformed world, whose rules and objectives are largely unknown, seemingly indecipherable or even possibly nonexistent, always on the verge of being killed by forces that we don’t understand.”

• Allegra: “This is it you see. This is the cage of your own making, which keeps you trapped and pacing about in the smallest possible space forever. Break out of your cage, Pikul. Break out now.”

But if I was forced to pick an absolute favourite scene, it would have to be when Allegra and Pikul are sitting in the Chinese restaurant and Pikul freaks out and yells, “eXistenZ is PAUSED!” When his face hits that table, it actually makes my face feel like it’s gone numb. Awesome!

If you watched it and didn’t enjoy it, it’s worth watching again – not for the storyline, but for the details…

…After all, eXistenZ is all about the details.