|
 It's
advertised by a poster that displays two young people making their way
through a decimated city with ominous signs warning of an infected zone
splayed about. A second poster shows the same couple in gas masks with
an amorphous tentacled being behind them. The very title of the movie
in question would waive fault to anyone who had a certain expectation of
what Monsters would be. I dunno, maybe it’s about Monsters? That
people have to flee from? Monsters is a film that takes a long and
bizarre way around to tell the story of a pretty standard romance.
There
are indeed monsters in Monsters. The earth has been invaded by space
squids that leave devastation wherever they go. The world’s military
are in pursuit of the giant, floaty octopi that have been cornered for
the time being in a section of Central America. An ambitious young
photographer, anxious to get on the good side of his publisher
reluctantly agrees to shepherd his boss’s wayward daughter out of the
region and into the safe, lovin’ arms of the good ol’ USA. Along their
long and arduous escape route, they’ll run into the corruption of those
who would put a dollar sign on survival and the desperation of the
have-nots for whom escape from the advancing space horde isn’t
financially feasible. The pair’s face time with the creatures will make
them question the truth of what they’ve been told about the aliens, as
well as reconsider their own places in the universe.
Terribly low budget, this, and that’s not a bad thing. The imagination
one must utilise to make something palatable to a viewing audience on
extremely small funding is always interesting. Gareth Edwards’ best
move was in acting as his own cinematographer because many of the images
in Monsters are lovely. We are plunged into the lives of the people in
this endangered area, whether crawling out from under the rubble of the
creatures’ wake, or watching as an entire town gathers to pray, mourn,
then celebrate what might be their last night on earth. The rolling
landscapes as the American couple hitch various conveyances to the north
reminded me of the remarkable mountainsides and green panoramas of
2009’s Sin Nombre, where the beautiful scenery was practically a costar.
Where
Edwards goes wrong is in presenting an undercooked romance between a
rich girl and a scrappy fly-by-the-seat-of-his pants photojournalist as
compelling enough to carry the brunt of the story. Edwards seems to
want his tale to be some sort of allegory for the journey of true love,
but it’s all too telegraphed and contrived. It felt like a lot of bait
and switch, not just for the reasons mentioned above (- Which,
perhaps, the director might not have had a hand in.), but because a
much more action-packed affair is clearly what we’re meant to expect
judging from the boom-tastic opening with fighter pilots taking on the
mighty invaders and all the destruction this defense wreaks. It’s as if
knowing the romance wasn’t enough to keep people interested, Edwards
throws in the monsters; ‘Don’t like our pallid, predictable love story
between two shallow, barely likeable characters? Don’t worry; the
monsters will be back.’ The trouble is, either by design or by
financial limitation; there isn’t nearly enough of the creatures to keep
audiences entertained. When they do appear, it’s hard to imagine all
the military of the world having such a hard time against such glacial,
slow-moving beasts. The threat to our heroes is negligible at best, so
the thriller aspect is gone. There are the life lessons thrown in for
the benefit of the young couple and the worthy note about what people
will go through to find shelter; a simile for the current immigration
arguments taking place in the US and other places, but we don’t go too
far into that. The picture just meanders about, not meaning much of
anything and saying even less. Monsters is a film that must have been a
marketing nightmare, not only because of its misleading setup, but
because it disappoints, failing to reach in every direction it aims.
~ The
Lady Miz Diva
Oct.
29th, 2010
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