“No really, I honestly don’t know how I first found this movie. I know I say that a lot, but I’m completely blanking as to what led to this Blu Ray appearing as number 333 on my shelf. I do know that the combination of an intriguing premise and Cillian Murphy would be enough to wanna watch it. Time was when Robert DeNiro would have factored into that, but post millennium DeNiro is far less reliable than pre-millennium DeNiro.
Murphy’s Tom Buckley is a physicist and assisant to psychologist and paranormal debunker Margaret Matheson, played by Sigourney Weaver.
Quick aside: while writing this up I switched to the bonus features cast interviews. I always know in my head that Cillian Murphy has an accent, but it still surprises me. He’s like Christian Bale in that way. His American accent is so flawless and reliable, it’s impressive how he pulls that off which such a thick Irish brogue.
Another quick aside: Just found out that writer/director Rodrigo Cortes also directed Buried. He’s good with the unique psychological. No wonder I like his stuff.
Right back to the synopsis. So Tom and Margaret spend their time researching people with supposed paranormal powers. Telepathy, telekinesis, etc. They both have their own motives for doing so, but it’s ultimately from a sincere place, outing the frauds in hopes of some day finding the real thing. Then DeNiro’s Simon Silver shows up. Silver is a world renowned psychic, who has been off the grid for 30 years. Tom goes down a mighty deep rabbit hole trying to investigate Silver and prove what he is, whatever outcome that may be.
This film is just right up my alley. Lil bit dark. Lil bit supernatural. Lotta bit suspense. Some really cool twists and turns. Fantastic cast (which also included Elizabeth Olsen and Toby Jones). I know I said DeNiro’s track record is a bit spotty right now, but he’s having fun in this role.
So if one of the points of this blog is to recommend movies that may be otherwise overlooked, this is me recommending Red Lights”