Film Review: Cypher

The Nova Cinema in Carlton, Melbourne, held a special preview showing of this film in August 2003, and some members and friends from Spaced Out and the wider SF community were able to attend this screening.

"Never Forget Who You Are" – so runs the advertising for this movie, and this catch-cry becomes a major plot element.

The audience is introduced to a meek, middle-class man with a humble marriage and humble background – but with less humble secret aspirations. He joins a major computer company as an industrial spy and embarks upon an adventure which changes his life and self-identity. There are more plot twists, crosses and double-crosses than a week at a political convention.

Starring Jeremy Northam as the man with a flexible name and identity, the film draws interesting (if unintended) metaphoric parallels between his life and that of many closeted bisexual men - balancing his featureless marriage and daytime life with that of his more exciting, secret, night-time persona.

The film also features Lucy Liu as the enigmatic Rita, literally the key character of the film. She portrays a strong, ruthless woman, the only person who can unlock all the secrets hidden from everyone else. She is even willing to risk a bullet for her cause.

Some viewers of "Cypher" may make comparisons with the James Bond or "Matrix" movies – but this film has a slower, more cerebral tone and pace, and a deliciously darker atmosphere – more in tune with "Gattaca" or "Dark City". There are even hints of the bleaker elements of "1984" and "The Truman Show".

One minor point of annoyance was the equating of cigarettes with "coolness". Every time Sullivan/Thursby dropped into a more relaxed, suave persona, he lit up a damned cigarette! This seemed weirdly out of step with current (or near-future) social morés, and was disappointing for a 2002 movie.

Overall, "Cypher" is a smart, stylish thriller which starts gently but, like a roller coaster, accelerates to take viewers on many unexpected twists and turns. If you don't hold on tight, you may lose your way!

The ending contains more than one twist which might, to some, appear predictable and possibly anti-climactic, but which probably needs more than one viewing to gain full significance of the final turn of events. In this film, nothing is as simple as it seems.