Dark City gives its questions about identity an unusually strong atmosphere. The stylised setting does much of the work, and the mystery stays engaging even when the explanations become more conventional.
Spoiler-free review.
Dark City has a confidence in its own artificial world that I really liked. The setting does not try to pass unnoticed as an ordinary place. Its strangeness is part of the problem the characters face. Alex Proyas gives the city enough personality that trying to understand it feels as important as following an individual mystery.
Rufus Sewell gives the uncertainty a clear human centre. His character needs something dependable to hold on to, and the film makes that need easy to follow. The performance does not have to explain every implication of the premise. It gives the viewer an immediate reason to care about a question that could otherwise remain abstract.
The dialogue and the deliberately stylised performances suit the atmosphere. At its best, the film makes an apparently straightforward explanation feel incomplete. The more recognisable crime-story elements provide some footing without removing the sense that the surroundings have their own rules. That balance gives the investigation a distinctive rhythm.
The film becomes less interesting when it starts setting out its ideas too explicitly. I preferred the uncertainty and the process of exploring the city to the more direct explanations. Still, the design and dramatic approach are closely connected. It is a good example of atmosphere helping to carry a science-fiction idea rather than merely decorating it.
1998 · English. Film details · Film details
Dark City gives its questions about identity an unusually strong atmosphere. The stylised setting does much of the work, and the mystery stays engaging even when the explanations become more conventional.
— Desly