Movie response - Danny Boyle/Alex Garland - "28 Weeks Later"
I saw “28 Weeks Later” on Memorial Day weekend. I wanted to review it here as a Boyle/Garland project, but I needed to see it anyway, for science fiction convention panel later this summer. The review ahead is rambling and I know it sucks, but here goes.
I. Am. PISSED.
As I have expressed before on this blog, “28 Days Later” is my favorite movie, primarily because of the theme that “it’s not all fucked”. If anything, the sequel seems to be saying that “it’s all fucked”, after all. That statement is made several times, and this time, no one contradicts it; and in fact, at the end of the movie, the Rage virus makes it across the English channel to continental Europe.
The film does have a lot of strengths. It was directed with a unique tone very similar to the first movie, which includes some beautiful cinematography, both in urban and rural settings, and a deft use of music. (I never would have thought a firebombing could be so beautiful.) Some of the sequences are more frightening than anything in “28 Days”, including one where the Rage rips through a trapped crowd, and another there the protagonists pick there way through a pitch-dark and skeleton-filled Underground station.
However, despite several solid performances, none of the characters win your heart the way that the four heroes of “28 Days Later” did. This may be in part because of the way the film shifts perspective. The second film also just doesn’t offer as much relief. I only recall one scene that was meant to be laughed at, where as “28 Days Later” had laughs throughout. There is also nothing so light-hearted as the grocery shopping trip, nor as life-affirming as Jim and Selena’s “You stole my thought” conversation. Most importantly, there is a greater sense of futility. In 28DL, there was a sense that if everyone stuck together and took care of each other, at least a few might survive, and learn that the whole world wasn’t on fire after all. In 28WL, everyone’s efforts to do the right thing amount to nothing…or make things worse.
Both movies deal with current events, in the subversive, subtextual way that horror movies in general (and zombie movies in particular) tend to do. “28 Days Later” came a few years after 9-11, and it is no accident that the people who promised protection turned out to be the greatest threat. The perspective of “28 Weeks” is a good bit more muddled. There is a terrible scene where the American snipers are ordered to shoot all civilians, just in case they are Infected, and this is presented--obviously--as a tragedy. An obvious point is made here about the difficult of telling insurgents from civilians during the chaos of war. At same time, the ending seems to suggest that that the “scorched earth” approach was the right idea. It begs the question: would the Western public respond differently to the carnage in Iraq if it were taking place close to home, culture like our own, and to primarily white people? More than five years after 9-11, has the world decided that a heartbeat is too long to wait when sorting friend from foe?
It is no exaggeration to say that “28 Days Later” is spiritually meaningful to me. I don’t mind admitting that I feel slightly betrayed by the sequel. I’m not into Nihilism, to use the word loosely. I got excited about Sunshine in part because I saw Danny Boyle and Alex Garland as representing the opposite of that. In fairness, I know the didn’t direct this one, and this story arc may be redeemed with another “28” movie. This will probably always be “my” zombie series…I didn’t know I had to pick one. I still have very high hopes for “Sunshine“, but I look to it with a little more hesitation now.
My boyfriend as I decided that what the squeal really needed was the return of Jim and Selena. Unfortunately, Selena was off playing with pirates this summer, and Jim was busy saving the sun. It would have been such wonderful symmetry for Sunshine fans if Scarlett--Rose Byrne’s “28 Weeks’ character--had gotten to say “It’s not all fucked”. If nothing else, though, I decided that I liked Rose well enough to ship Capsie without shame.
I. Am. PISSED.
As I have expressed before on this blog, “28 Days Later” is my favorite movie, primarily because of the theme that “it’s not all fucked”. If anything, the sequel seems to be saying that “it’s all fucked”, after all. That statement is made several times, and this time, no one contradicts it; and in fact, at the end of the movie, the Rage virus makes it across the English channel to continental Europe.
The film does have a lot of strengths. It was directed with a unique tone very similar to the first movie, which includes some beautiful cinematography, both in urban and rural settings, and a deft use of music. (I never would have thought a firebombing could be so beautiful.) Some of the sequences are more frightening than anything in “28 Days”, including one where the Rage rips through a trapped crowd, and another there the protagonists pick there way through a pitch-dark and skeleton-filled Underground station.
However, despite several solid performances, none of the characters win your heart the way that the four heroes of “28 Days Later” did. This may be in part because of the way the film shifts perspective. The second film also just doesn’t offer as much relief. I only recall one scene that was meant to be laughed at, where as “28 Days Later” had laughs throughout. There is also nothing so light-hearted as the grocery shopping trip, nor as life-affirming as Jim and Selena’s “You stole my thought” conversation. Most importantly, there is a greater sense of futility. In 28DL, there was a sense that if everyone stuck together and took care of each other, at least a few might survive, and learn that the whole world wasn’t on fire after all. In 28WL, everyone’s efforts to do the right thing amount to nothing…or make things worse.
Both movies deal with current events, in the subversive, subtextual way that horror movies in general (and zombie movies in particular) tend to do. “28 Days Later” came a few years after 9-11, and it is no accident that the people who promised protection turned out to be the greatest threat. The perspective of “28 Weeks” is a good bit more muddled. There is a terrible scene where the American snipers are ordered to shoot all civilians, just in case they are Infected, and this is presented--obviously--as a tragedy. An obvious point is made here about the difficult of telling insurgents from civilians during the chaos of war. At same time, the ending seems to suggest that that the “scorched earth” approach was the right idea. It begs the question: would the Western public respond differently to the carnage in Iraq if it were taking place close to home, culture like our own, and to primarily white people? More than five years after 9-11, has the world decided that a heartbeat is too long to wait when sorting friend from foe?
It is no exaggeration to say that “28 Days Later” is spiritually meaningful to me. I don’t mind admitting that I feel slightly betrayed by the sequel. I’m not into Nihilism, to use the word loosely. I got excited about Sunshine in part because I saw Danny Boyle and Alex Garland as representing the opposite of that. In fairness, I know the didn’t direct this one, and this story arc may be redeemed with another “28” movie. This will probably always be “my” zombie series…I didn’t know I had to pick one. I still have very high hopes for “Sunshine“, but I look to it with a little more hesitation now.
My boyfriend as I decided that what the squeal really needed was the return of Jim and Selena. Unfortunately, Selena was off playing with pirates this summer, and Jim was busy saving the sun. It would have been such wonderful symmetry for Sunshine fans if Scarlett--Rose Byrne’s “28 Weeks’ character--had gotten to say “It’s not all fucked”. If nothing else, though, I decided that I liked Rose well enough to ship Capsie without shame.