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EIGHT MILLIMETER Send This Review to a Friend
The violent sadistic porn of Joel Schumacher's somber action
film is so thoroughly depressing that watching Nicolas Cage track down the vicious
killers of a hapless girl in a snuff film made for a well-heeled client is more obnoxious
than riveting. Despite Cage's acting prowess as a detective so disgusted by what he finds
that he is impelled to exact retribution before concluding his assignment, the world we
visit with him is brutally off-putting.
Was a girl snuffed out? Or was it a faked killing? Tom Welles (Cage) is hired to find
out. He follows the Los Angeles and New York trail at the risk of the lives of his wife
(Catherine Keener) and baby daughter as well as his own. His neglected wife is angry and
resentful, and illogically for someone who professes to be so much in love, he doesn't
confide in her.
The world far beyond ordinary porn and even sadomasochistic flicks is peopled by a
monster called Machine, who wears a mask as he tortures the victims being filmed, a
porn director whose vicious work is considered art by his fans, and a sleazy, amoral
producer. To each his own, but do you want to tour this milieu?
Apart from all that, the plot and lethal action showdowns strain credibility. At least
there's humor in Mel Gibson's violent, far-fetched "Payback" quest. "Eight Millimeter" is
just relentlessly grim. A Columbia release.
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