Paranoia
(USA/France, 106 min.)
Dir. Robert Luketic, Writ. Jason Hall, Barry L. Levy
Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman, Harrison Ford, Amber
Heard, Lucas Till, Embeth Davidtz, and Richard Dreyfuss.
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Gary Oldman, Chris Hemsworth, and Harrison Ford star in Paranoia. Photo by Peter Iovino, courtesy of eOne Films |
“There’s nothing original these days,” says Wyatt (Gary
Oldman) to his young protégé Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth) in the slick flick Paranoia. As Adam gives a
career-driven yessir nod to his boss,
Wyatt goes on how the only thing to do in the age of unoriginality is to steal ideas
from the competition or to make a better copy. Paranoia, an utterly derivative techno-thriller, doesn’t really do
either of Wyatt’s advised tactics, but it reveals a dearth of originality.
The weirdest character of all might be Wyatt’s goon and
Adam’s spy trainer, Judith, played with icy resolve by Embeth Davidtz (one of
several Mad Men regulars to appear in
the film). Judith has an odd way of enjoying random cutaways that allow Davidtz
to squint her eyes as the character sizes up her colleagues. Judith makes a
swanky living by reading people and predicting their behaviour for Mr. Wyatt. Corporate
backstabbing probably wasn’t the life Judith expected after gaining a Ph.D. in
behavioural psychology, but at least she’s not a barista.
The random ensemble doesn’t do much to make the dull
by-the-numbers script of Paranoia come
to life. Hemsworth, while serviceable enough, doesn’t offer much as a memorable lead.
Oldman and Ford, on the other hand, have a lot of fun chewing the scenery,
although they give Paranoia the
misfortune of having two villains that are significantly more interesting and
engaging than the protagonist. Adding to the unevenness of the film are Adam’s
comic-relief friends, played by Lucas Till and Angela Sarafyan, who seem to be
extras from The Big Bang Theory. Richard
Dreyfuss, finally, has a lot of fun playing the dirty old man Adam calls his
father, but the material seems like little more than a paycheck for him.
Paranoia isn’t
helped much, either, by its meandering pacing and its silly superficiality. Sleek
with lens flare and filled with plenty of fancy gadgets, Paranoia is all style and little substance. To be fair, Adam’s
attractively dressed apartment is easily the best thing about the film—well done,
art directors! There’s also an odd electronic score that seems more suitable as
the soundtrack for a douchey pre-drink than for a smart thriller. At least the
beats keep one from falling asleep.
Paranoia is
probably a great film to watch from the corner of the eye whilst perusing the Twitter
feed on one's smartphone, but it’s is hardly worth the money—or the
bandwidth—required to screen it. Paranoia
simply tries too hard to be a relevant contemporary thriller, but the seams
show at every turn. It never really thrills, and the morale of corporate greed
in the age of technological disaffection is very heavy-handed. The film also has
a negligible air of paranoia, which makes its title wildly misleading. Will
someone please send the director of Legally
Blonde a copy of The Conspiracy?
Rating: ★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Rating: ★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Paranoia opens in wide release August 15th.