Year of Release: 2002
Director: Mark Pellington
Starring: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Will Patton, Debra Messing, David Eigenberg, Lucinda Jenney, Alan Bates, Shane Callahan, Nesbitt Blaisdell, Tim Hartman, Tom Tully
Genre: Mystery, Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review:
Director Mark Pellington made a name for himself in the 90s as a celebrated music video director, having worked with bands such as Pearl Jam, U2 and Nine Inch Nails. His feature directorial debut, "Going All the Way" had a great cast, including Rachel Weisz and Ben Affleck and was met with good reviews, the same going for its follow up, "Arlington Road", still one of his best features, with Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins. "The Mothman Prophecies" was the follow up to "Arlington Road" and sees the director venturing into to the genre of mystery with traces of supernatural horror. The film follows the story of John Klein, a reporter for the Washington Post. One evening, after scouting for a possible new residence with his wife Mary, while driving home, she sees a flash of something, which causes her to lose control over the car and they're involved in a car accident. While John is unarmed, Mary stays in the hospital and is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Following her death, John retrieves her artifacts from the hospital, and realizes she left behind a series of drawings of a mysterious creature. Two years later, John becomes lost somewhere in West Virginia, and finds himself hundreds of miles away from his route, without realizing so. His car breaks down, and he walks to a nearby house to ask for help. He is received with animosity by the owner, and once the Police officer shows up, the owner of the house, Gordon Smallwood, explains that this has been the third consecutive night John has done that, something John has no recollection of. This starts an investigational thread for John, with the assistance of police officer Connie Mills, to uncover who and what this entity is and what it represents.
"The Mothman Prophecies" is based on a book by John Keel, which details investigations which occurred in the 60s regarding an entity, in the West Virginia area. The film adaptation transposes the action for the early millennia, but the main thread remains the same. Mark Pellington smartly builds a film that is anchored on the fact that the characters are not aware of what is real or imaginary, opting to create a sense of unease, urgency and constant surprise. One of the great angles this film could have enhanced, is highlighting the fact that the characters never realize if this entity actually exists or if it is a figment of people's imagination (or even of John's imagination). This angle could have been a stronger and more distinctive point of view for the film, which nonetheless, is polished in its execution and definition of the narrative. The film benefits from three good lead performances, including Richard Gere, the always phenomenal Laura Linney and the underrated Will Patton, though the romantic suggestion between Richard Gere and Laura Linney's characters feels a bit forced. The cinematography from Fred Murphy is wonderful, as is the score from tomandandy. While it needs an extra sense of urgency and dread to be truly memorable, it's nonetheless a well acted and entertaining film.
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