Cube (1997), dir. Vincenzo Natali
** ½
It doesn’t take long to realize
that Cube, in terms of its logistics, is
a very cleverly conceived film—it’s built upon an intricate gimmick, and boasts
some pretty intriguing interplay between a set of overtly stereotyped
characters. It is unfortunately a
very superficial film, as there really isn’t much else to it aside from what
I’ve already described. Had I seen
it closer to its date of release, I probably would have held a more favorable
opinion of it. But in the past
decade or so, we’ve been inundated with films such as Cube—films that rest upon the belief that as long as
there’s an original plot device it can be successfully carried to the
fore. A more recent example of
what I’m describing would be Christopher Nolan’s Inception, which had the audacity to assume it could win its
audience over with a single idea: dreams within dreams. But nothing was ever really at stake in
the film; so as it is with Cube.
Cube is a simple escape story, set in complicated surroundings. The film’s seven heroes are
inexplicably cast into giant cube, consisting of countless small chambers,
many of which contain deadly booby traps of the most diabolically gruesome
nature. Sound somewhat
familiar? I think the creators of
the Saw series must have been
inspired by this film. It took
some research, but I discovered that the seven prisoners are in fact named
after seven real-life prisons, each one in turn exhibiting characteristics of
those prisons. There’s Quentin,
the police detective (named after San Quentin in California, which is noted for
its cruelty), Rennes, the escaped convict (named after a prison in France,
known as a model of prison policy), Kazan, the autistic (named after a prison
in Russia, noted for its disorganization), among others. The presence of these characters add to
the convoluted nature of the film, as each one has a special role to play in
the navigation of the cube.
Another character, Leaven, who excels in mathematics, slowly learns the
secret to the cube’s construction.
But it takes the autistic, whose mathematical abilities surpass even
Leaven’s own to lead them to the way out.
When
I say that there’s nothing at stake in the film, it’s directly due to the
superficiality of the characters.
They seem to exist merely to serve to the plot device of the film. With that being so apparent it makes it
impossible for the viewer to care for them. There’s also an awful lot of bickering in this film, but
it’s there mostly to exploit the stereotypical character traits each of the
seven possess. In addition, there’s enough mathematical ruminating as they
attempt to solve the cube to make one’s head explode. Again, it’s all very cleverly done, but it left me feeling
unfulfilled by the end. I tend to
be more interested in motives than logistics, and this film offers none of the
former.
I
can recommend the film on the strength of the performances, which despite the
lack of depth the script provides, are effectively conveyed. The art direction, which is quite
fascinating, and even more impressive when you consider the film’s low
budget. And I can offer some
praise to the film’s central plot device—that of the cube itself. It was very carefully conceived, but
alas to no end.
