Cloverfield

I was visiting the Apple Trailers website while in university and I saw one movie trailer entitled “1-18-08”. Intrigued, I watched it and was impressed with the mysterious nature of its subject. I immediately recognized evocations of September 11 and mostly because of that, I went to see “Cloverfield”. Because I was a film student at the time, I was attracted to the hand-held cinematography. Because I never saw "The Blair Witch Project", this was my first experience in the "found-footage" genre and I saw my world of amateur filmmaking being married with Hollywood storytelling. The film was designed to appeal to the users of YouTube and is most entertaining if you don't know what the film is about. The level of realism that you experience in the first viewing of this film is high. I was afraid that it would be a horror film but it turned out to be a disaster-monster film, which I love a lot better. The movie is scary but that is not its central purpose. Unfortunately after more viewings, you can see a scripted nature to the film. Many events that you felt were spontaneous the first time you watched the movie become less realistic.

The opening text and timecode color bars bring about an immediate sense of realism. The randomness of the name of the movie also does this. “Cloverfield” is named after the freeway exit that producer J. J. Abrams used to travel to his Santa Monica office. Another way that you add realism to a film is by using no-name actors like on “United 93”. The cast of “Cloverfield” appears to be regular people to a certain extent because before 2008, we had not seen them in other big films. This was T.J. Miller's first film and he appears to have enjoyed the most success since the release of this movie than any of the other cast members. Because he was an unknown at the time, he and the other cast members still feel quite real. The hand-held cinematography is the biggest contributor to the realistic nature of the movie. A lot of the movie is actually filmed by Miller who plays Hud. The final ingredient that makes “Cloverfield” real is the absence of a musical score. “Cast Away” also has a sense of realism for example because you don’t hear the musical score of Alan Silvestri until Chuck gets off the island. The intercutting between the Apr 27 and May 22 footage adds to the relationship between Rob and Beth. This is a unique non-linear film as a result. The party does of good job of creating exposition but it is one example among many of where the film feels a little scripted after your 3^rd or 4^th viewing. To illustrate my point, look at the conversation out on the balcony between Jason, Hud and Rob. Jason’s advice feels too coincidental considering the disaster that is about to happen in seconds. For a normal Hollywood film, there would be no problem with the nature of that conversation. For a film in the “found-footage” genre, it appears too convenient for the character. Later when the windows break in the store where our main characters have taken cover, their coughing sounds phony. Further on in the film when they find Beth, you can tell that her chest isn’t real. Sometimes the framing and editing seem scripted as well such as in the subway when Rob throws over the stand in frustration and then we cut to the ceiling shaking. It feels too much like a normal Hollywood edit. The tunnel scenes are very scary and well created but the lines concerning the rats are yet another example of a lack of realism.

On a more positive note however, the film is still well done. The party does have some dramatic tension because you tell that disaster is going to strike any second and end the party. The level of anticipation and dread for us is pretty high. I like movies where we, the audience, know something world changing is going to happen but the characters don’t. I like how they filmed some stuff on the actual Brooklyn Bridge. Even though you hardly see him, Miller is my favorite actor in the film. His performance concerning homeless people lit on fire is very humorous. I also love how Hud comes up with the idea to get to Beth’s apartment and then totally regrets it. I also enjoy the line: “I’ll document” as they are about to climb to the other roof. The sound effects for the parasite aliens were well done because they evoke fear for the audience. Another powerful moment is Marlena’s death. I am glad it was redone because it was more powerful to see her explode in silhouette rather than to just see her blood splatter on the plastic wall. I am glad that one of our main cast members appear to have survived because the film needed at least one of our heroes to live. I like how director Matt Reeves wanted the helicopter crash to feel similar to the plane crash at the end of “United 93”. The same special effects company made both that film & “Cloverfield” and so that was helpful. Both crashes feel real but the ending crash from Paul Greengrass’ film was better thanks to the music. “Clover” the monster gets to been seen for a long period of time at the end and that is another thing that we needed for the audience. I like how Rob and Beth record testimonials under the bridge because that is what was happening at the party. Steven Spielberg saw this film before its release and he suggested adding sirens to countdown towards the “Hammerdown”. He also suggested the radio announcement in helicopter after the crash as well as sounds from “Clover” to tell the audience that the monster was going down. He was correct on all fronts as usual. The sirens really take away all hope for Beth and Rob’s survival. The first shots in the film were the last ones filmed and visa versa for the end of the film. I like facts such as that. Michael Giacchino’s score during the credits is fun to listen to. It brings Godzilla to everyone’s mind.

Before this film, I did not know that subway stations in New York connected directly to department stores. The filmmakers did a good job in replicating that city realistically. The secrecy surrounding the film was well done and did so much in terms of realism. Before seeing “Cloverfield”, I had my money on the monster being the Stay-puft Marshmallow Man. After seeing the film, I called it “‘Blair Witch’ meets ‘Godzilla’” and I still use that analogy today. In a slight measure, I got to see potential in myself as an amateur filmmaker (even though this film was made by professionals). In 2015, I got to make a similar project for a zombie house around Halloween that I am proud of and I tried to replicate the cinematography of "Cloverfield". The “found-footage” genre continues today but it is producing mostly horror films unfortunately such as the “Paranormal Activity” franchise. At least "Chronicle" was made and that turned out decent. I feel though that those films don’t measure up to “Cloverfield” thanks to Abrams. Unfortunately, this movie is better the first time. The film has both genuine realism but also a little phoniness that can be seen after multiple viewings. "Cloverfield" also prepared me for Abrams' "Super 8". I had heard rumors about a sequel to "Cloverfield" but as more time passed, I forgot about the possibility until the first month of 2016 when "10 Cloverfield Lane" came to my knowledge.

4 stars