the Mind’s Chew Toy

A recent preview for Nicolas Cage’s new flick, Next, reminded us of a film we hadn’t yet checked out that had come to DVD: Deja Vu.

With producer Jerry Bruckheimer teaming up with director Tony Scott, we knew it would be a wild ride. Add to that a preview that made the film sound like a time-travelling murder mystery, and Denzel Washington in the leading man role, and we knew from the start we had wanted to see it. But, with all the great-looking summer previews distracting us, we had totally forgotten about Deja Vu.

Now that we had been reminded, we immediately added it to the top of our Queue at Blockbuster.com, and anxiously awaited for it’s arrival in our mailbox. Now that the day has arrived, we only had one question: would it all be worth it, or would Deja Vu be more apt to remind us of a line from Hudson Hawk: “It’s veja du…something you wish never did happen”?

Denzel always seems to try to pick movies that are a bit away from the norm. Sometimes these odd films work (Fallen), and sometimes they don’t (Training Day). He is one of the few actors who actually seem to read the script the whole way through before signing up for the role - or he has gotten really really lucky in that aspect.

That’s true in Deja Vu, as well. While the idea of time travel to solve a murder mystery isn’t new (Timecop), Deja Vu takes that a step further, as it allows the characters to actually watch the past unfold - surveillance taken to the extreme.

With the plot requiring viewers to really stretch their imagination in order to accept some of it’s points, Denzel’s role is key to keeping the viewer involved - and he never misses a step. As the plot unfolds, Denzel is right there with the audience, leading them through each scene. When the pivotal scenes explaining the high-end technology come into play, he has already built a trust with the audience, so when he begins to believe that the technology could exist, the viewer buys into it.

Denzel is extremely good at connecting with the audience. In straight-forward roles like this one, he is able to lay himself out as an open book to the audience, letting them peek inside his head to truly understand where his character is coming from. This insight into his characters really connects the audience to him. His background research of his characters, and his basing them on real people may play a part in this. Whatever the reason, it’s what makes him as good of an actor as he is, and hopefully he’ll never lose that.

While some actors take a movie and make it their own in such a way that all other characters are secondary, Denzel is much more subtle. He is able to heighten the performance of the other actors in the film through his performance, rather than stealing the spotlight. Maybe he sets a higher standard that they are eager to live up to. Val Kilmer, as a rather chunky FBI agent, turns in a performance the likes of which the viewer hasn’t seen from him since Heat, while Adam Goldberg and relative newcomer Paula Patton also turn in great performances as a scientist and a victim named Claire, respectively. Even Jesus, Jim Caviezel, turns in a decent - if rather staid and nearly unrecognizable - performance as the terrorist.

The hardest thing about a film like Deja Vu is getting the audience to believe the “new technology”. With Denzel subtly directing the audience, that part is taken care of in Deja Vu, so the audience buys into the premise enough to make the film work. But, even with Denzel emotionally involving the viewer, the film easily could have fallen apart if there had been nothing to back up this plot point - or if it had been presented to early in the film. With Deja Vu however, the film is filled with clues leading up to this point, so the viewer has already prepared themselves somewhat for what’s going to happen.

Then, as the second part of the film unfolds, each of those clues becomes apparent - leaving the viewer craving to watch the film a second time to see what other clues they missed. With the film using everything from the music the characters hear to objects that show up in the investigation as clues, the viewer probably won’t catch them all the first time around, making a second viewing definitely worth while.

Probably the biggest thing going for Deja Vu, plot-wise, is it’s ability to bring a large-scale disaster down to a more personal level. Rather than trying to concentrate on the 543 people who died in the explosion, the film focuses on just one victim, Claire, who seems to have died before the explosion even happened, but has ties to the explosion. By focusing on Claire, the film leads viewers to the conclusion with a vested interest. After all, 543 is just too many people to try to deal with in the short time the film has. But one victim? Ah, that’s a lot more easy for the viewer to get emotionally involved with.

Even with the previews making Deja Vu look to be worth the while, the stand-out performances of the cast and the brilliant script and directing make Deja Vu even better than expected. Since subsequent viewings tend to degrade most murder mysteries - since the viewer already knows the twists and who the killer is - Deja Vu is so well-written and acted it is worth owning. Plus, I have a feeling every time I watch it I’ll pick up on clues that I may have missed the first or second time around (yes, I’ve already watched it twice).

Do yourself a favor and check out Deja Vu and see for yourself why it’s my favorite Denzel picture to date.