Red Lights [DVD]

This movie both pleasantly surprised me and greatly disappointed me. Going in I wasn't expecting much due to the small amount of publicity for the film but held hope because of the cast (Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver, Cillian Murphy, Toby Jones; to name just a few).

The direction throughout the film is brilliant and the acting is near-perfect throughout - as to be expected from such great actors. The actual storyline of the movie is where there is unfortunately less consistency throughout.

The first two thirds are very, very good and build tension excellently. Few films have such an excellent platform to build from for the third act. Unfortunately, though, the third act is very important in itself - and with this movie it disappointed greatly. In this review I'll refer to the point where I feel the movie suddenly tails away as 'the toilet bit' (not a spoiler for anybody who hasn't seen it and at the same time if you have seen it you'll know what I mean). From that point on the movie just gets worse and worse until eventually (and very unfortunately) the lowest point of the movie which is the ending. It was one of those endings where you think "Wait, is this thing finishing now? Really?" Which is a real shame - because it really was very good for well over an hour.

I would (albeit after some long thought) recommend this movie; the first two thirds are almost a masterclass in building up tension in a thriller. The ending is a huge let-down (for me at least, and I know that some others feel the same) but it's one of those cases where the ending could never have been such a let-down if it wasn't for the beginning and middle being so good and raising expectations so much in the first place.

I guess the best way to sum this movie up in one sentence is that it has the first two thirds of a very good movie and the ending of an average movie - I've seen many movies with much worse endings but few with endings so much worse than the rest of the film.

Red Lights wasn't given much attention on release which is a shame, because it's one of the most gripping psychological thrillers to be made in many a year. It also features the best performance from Robert De Niro I've seen in nearly a decade - which is just as well, because both Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy deliver stunning turns, too. Lovely supporting character (a gullible ESP-investigating professor) for Toby Jones to play, likewise.

The plot follows a pair of underfunded college professors who specialise in parapsychology de-bunking, and the relationship between the two scientists, mentor Weaver and her protégé Murphy, is beautifully portrayed. It would spoil the film and your enjoyment to say too much about the plot... but things take a sinister turn when De Niro's character enters the scene as a returning stage psychic, one whose critics have a habit of dying in mysterious circumstances.
Red Lights is spooky, chilling and unsettling right from the start with the action taking place in an artfully created atmosphere of uncertainty. It beautifully captures the conflict between science and superstition with a tip of the hat to many other movies and TV shows (look out for an 'I Want To Understand' poster in the science lab!)
The emphasis of the film changes part-way, with Weaver playing a bigger role in the first half and then De Niro steps into the limelight during the second, when the sinister sensation of indeterminate threat ratchets upwards. There are a couple of 'boo!' scares but in the main the tension is all intellectual - it's all in the mind. (Or is it...?) The mystery and resolution are very reminiscent of A Certain Director; I can't reveal who, but you'll understand once you've watched Red Lights.
The finale is intensely satisfying and rewarding. Overall this is a magnificent mix of a compelling and clever plot; tight direction (and some sneaky misdirection too); emotionally taut performances and near-perfect pacing. definitely worth seeing on a big screen if you can - and we'll watch it more than once, to pick up on all the little details which we missed first time around.

Superb film. Can't wait for director Rodrigo Cortez' next effort. A real shame that Red Lights didn't get more attention on first release!
9/10

I am a big fan of Cillian Murphy and so decided to give this a punt. It is about some cutting edge paranormal psychic investigators, they are Sigourney Weaver (Dr. Margaret Matheson) and the afore mentioned Mr Murphy as her trusted side kick Tom Buckley. They work at a University where they are having their funding cut whilst fighting the good fight against fake mediums and psychics. Then the mysterious, enigmatic and blind television super psychic comes back into the limelight after a thirty year absence, this is Simon Silver. He had dropped off the radar after a mysterious death in his audience of one of his most out spoken critics. He is played by Robert De Niro, who as ever is good value for money.

Meanwhile things start to go wrong around Cillian, lights explode, computers go wrong and things just get smashed, so obviously it is Mr Silver warning him off from investigating his new show. Then things get nasty very quickly and an ultimate show down is all but inevitable. The `red lights' are a reference to things that are so out of place they act as warning signals, like helpers of the psychic going through the audience before hand to glean information that can be fed to the main man. This can be quite atmospheric and has real quality in the mood department and was entreating for the most part, however it does not keep up the good work.

So where does it go wrong, well there are loads of hints at things, like why does a blind man wear a watch etc. We are shown some of their pasts but essentially the characters are all pretty much formed and the love interest is more or less shoe horned in, but still kind of works. It is the ending where you realise that this is a just a film of plot holes and that is a bit insulting to the audience; I actually thought this was psycho, babble schmaltz at one point. Either way I was left feeling unfulfilled and for the simple reason that it was so badly written. The acting is all fine as you would expect, but seriously 'Scooby Doo' would not get away with such a false ending. Whilst I am still a fan of the actors, I hope they never commit to anything from this production company again. To throw away a `good' film for the formulaic need for a plot twist is plain wrong, only see if you are a fan of the actors