I can't handle scary movies. This is why, when I wanted to watch a movie for Friday the 13th, I had to look under "thriller" instead of "horror"; even the case covers in horror scared me. As I scrolled through the thriller options, I came upon Flatliners, the 1990 film directed by Joel Schumacher, which follows five medical students who kill and revive themselves in order to experience the afterlife and live to tell about it. This movie was a favorite of mine when I was in high school and I decided it was time for a trip down memory lane.
In typical Schumacher fashion, I was spoon-fed from the start. The opening credits had only just begun when, amidst shots of religious sculptures accompanied by a James Newton Howard score, I saw the Latin words "Scientia" {knowledge}, "Religio" {root of the English "religion"}, and "Medici" {doctor(s)}. (Ohhhhhhh. So this movie is about the tension between science and faith. Got it. Might as well stop now. Thanks, Joel). And, since I had seen the movie before, I noticed that the name of the actor who represents each worldview flashed before the Latin: Kiefer Sutherland {cue Scientia}, Julia Roberts, Stephen Baldwin {cue Madonna (Stephen Baldwin's character is a womanizer), and Religio}, Oliver Platt and Kevin Bacon {cue Medici}. Gee, how clever and (not at all) subtle.
However, once I got past the credits -
Oh, wait, no, actually Schumacher continued to do the "here comes the airplane into the hanger" feeding bit throughout the entire movie. For example, each character had an entirely different lighting scheme to their afterlife/dream sequence, thus ensuring we would know exactly whose visions we were seeing. Apparently seeing the character on the table about to "die" wasn't enough; we needed color coding. Did you see that line between artistic and systematic? It's that one Schumacher just lept over with a single bound.
Oh, and a brief word about the writing: Seriously?! Yep, that's my brief word. But I would be remiss to not provide an example of said writing. For your pleasure: "Somehow, we've brought our sins back physically... and they're pissed." I rest my case.
Despite my negativity, there actually were points where I remembered why I liked this movie. What happens after death has always intrigued me, as does psychology, so a movie where people experience the afterlife as issues that are plaguing their subconscious' is an incredibly interesting concept to me. It made me think, and I do enjoy a good thought every now and then. Oh, and who doesn't love the occasional Kevin Bacon film?
Flatliners is one of the films I think has a great concept, but the execution falls short. Had it been directed by, say, Martin Scorsese, it could have been awesome. As it is, I can only recommend it to those who are interested in or entertained by thoughts and perspectives on the afterlife... or Kevin Bacon fans.
However, once I got past the credits -
Oh, wait, no, actually Schumacher continued to do the "here comes the airplane into the hanger" feeding bit throughout the entire movie. For example, each character had an entirely different lighting scheme to their afterlife/dream sequence, thus ensuring we would know exactly whose visions we were seeing. Apparently seeing the character on the table about to "die" wasn't enough; we needed color coding. Did you see that line between artistic and systematic? It's that one Schumacher just lept over with a single bound.
Oh, and a brief word about the writing: Seriously?! Yep, that's my brief word. But I would be remiss to not provide an example of said writing. For your pleasure: "Somehow, we've brought our sins back physically... and they're pissed." I rest my case.
Despite my negativity, there actually were points where I remembered why I liked this movie. What happens after death has always intrigued me, as does psychology, so a movie where people experience the afterlife as issues that are plaguing their subconscious' is an incredibly interesting concept to me. It made me think, and I do enjoy a good thought every now and then. Oh, and who doesn't love the occasional Kevin Bacon film?
Flatliners is one of the films I think has a great concept, but the execution falls short. Had it been directed by, say, Martin Scorsese, it could have been awesome. As it is, I can only recommend it to those who are interested in or entertained by thoughts and perspectives on the afterlife... or Kevin Bacon fans.
I saw this movie on TV several years ago. I remember it's heavy handedness (to put it nicely) and I do remember I kept watching because the concept was intriguing rather than because it was actually good.
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