Customer Reviews

Cypher

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Stunning, imaginative visuals highlight this sci-fi thriller, an intricate story of multi-layered brainwashing that is actually better on the second and third viewing, because of its maze of plot twists that one can get lost in, and knowing the ending doesn't lessen the impact of the drama.
The brainwashing scenes are brilliant, where a group attends lectures on subjects like "processed cheese" and "shaving cream distribution," and in paranoid moments makes me wonder what might be really happening to our brains while watching the average news/entertainment + advertising fare on our televisions.
These scenes are a little like the 1962 "The Manchurian Candidate," only using futuristic technology.

Jeremy Northam is terrific as "Morgan Sullivan," whose reality gets distorted and personality split into several identities. His confusion and fear are believable, and he handles the few action sequences with aplomb. Lucy Liu is strong and beautiful as the mysterious Rita, whose coded telephone number is Job 13:17, "Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears."
Vincenzo Natali directed this award winning 2002 film with stylish flair, a sleek sophistication, and with excellent pacing and some heart-thumping tension. The cinematography by Derek Rogers is marvelous, with a rather stark look, and the score is atmospheric and lovely, by Michael Andrews.
Intriguing, well acted, and with fascinating imagery, this is more of a mental adventure than the typical "blow 'em up" action film, and deserves being seen more than once for full appreciation.
No graphic violence, no nudity, and only the occasional four-letter word make this film suitable for a large audience.
Total running time is 95 minutes.

Canadian director Vincenzo Natali made a cult film 'Cube' in 1997 -- claustrophobic thriller about six people trapped in cubic rooms. In his new film, Natali made another thriller in the vein of 'The Manchurian Candidate.' The difference from Sinatra's classic film is that 'Cypher' is more atmospheric, complicated, and politic-free. You need a lot of suspention of disbelief, but the film is stylish and uniquely entertaining.

The story begins with a job interview of one Morgan Sullivan (Jeremy Northam) by a high-tech company Digicorp. Morgan, mild-mannered and quite ordinary man, is accepted after many exams which apparently are intended to test not so much his skills as his identity, for the company is afraid of his being a spy sent from its rivals.

Now Morgan starts his new freelance job, given another name "Jack Thursby." As Jack, Morgan is sent on a business trip to the cities, where a conference is held. His assignment is simple -- to tape secretly the presentations there, and transmit the content. His first mission is in shaving cream convention in Buffalo; next, process cheese in Omaha; and then, Boise....

YOU CAN SENSE that something is wrong with the world Morgan/Jack is in. Things are managed too well. Everyhing looks very artificial (see the designs of square buildings or town blocks). And one red-haired woman named 'Rita Foster' (Lucy Liu) always shows up whereever Morgan goes. What is her purpose?

Though the story gets confusing in the second half, 'Cypher' remains intriguing, refusing to give us an easy wayout from the maze until the last moment. Some may think the ending is slightly disappointing, but even they would admit the film's unpredictable storyline. As to the acting, Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu are both very good. Northam seamlessly changes one personality to another while Liu shows her more quiet side unlike her hit movies 'Charle's Angels' or 'Kill Bill Vol. 1.'

Final words about the release of the film. The film was completed in 2002, and soon was released in January 2003 in Japan (where I watched this film in theater when it was renamed 'Company Man' -- better title, I guess), and much later the same year in UK, too. But for some reasons I don't know, Miramax refused to release it in America until 2005. 'Cypher' is another example of casualities from unaccountable decision, which I hope will not happen in the future. The film deserves a much better fate.

I'm not that great of a sci-fi fan so was a bit wary of Cypher, but it's really quite brilliant. More in the vein of Hitchcock in terms of wondering where reality starts and ends, and with a distinctly convoluted plot, Cypher keeps you engaged & keeps you guessing. Well acted, well written, and with a "Blade Runner" visual style. Don't miss it.

There's not a lot that can be said about Cypher without compromising the movie. I saw it on cable. The "info" says Cypher is about a man (Morgan Sullivan) confused about his identity when hired by rival firms to spy on each other. To that I can add that identity and the shifting realities that Sullivan experiences are central to Cypher. When you are unsure who you are, what your name is, who your wife is, where you live and who your friends are there is little left to anchor your sense of reality.

He is pushed and bullied by the industrial rivals but the movie never devolves into a cliched action-fest. The movie centers around his shifting identities and the deadly game of industrial espionage in which he finds himself entangled.

My wife and I enjoyed the movie. Cypher is intelligent and doesn't disappoint in the wrap up. I'm planning on grabbing this on DVD when Amazon gets around to stocking it.

This is a great film. When I think sci-fi, I usually think of the popular space operas like Star Wars rather than great films like Dark Cty and Cube. Well, I'm happy to say that this film is in good company with those two sci-fi thrillers. Great film that kept me entertained through the end. I was such a fan after seeing this film for the first tiem that I bought the R2 version (I'm American) from amazon.co.uk rather than waiting for the R1 release. At the very least, give this movie a try. I doubt you will be disappointed.

That was the question soon-to-be ex-Morgan Sullivan (Jeremy Northam) asked his new employer Digicorp as they assigned him his cover as Jack Thursby. Digicorp told him he could put his own spin on the character--and so he did, adding cigarettes, golf, and single malt Scotch on the rocks to his habits.

What was Thursby to do? Thursby's assignment was to spy on Digicorp's rival, Sunways. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell his wife about what he was doing or his job.

On his first assignment, he encounters a very attractive young woman Rita (Liu) who introduces him to counter-intelligence. Digicorp is going to brainwash him into permanently believing he's Thursby. Rita can help him, but he's got to trust her.

Soon, he's swept into a Gordian knot of a plot that literally keeps you guessing and sitting on the edge of your suit til the film ends.

Acting was very well done by everyone in the cast. Both Northam and Liu knew how to put just enough spin on the characters to keep you believing. Northam's slow transition from what he thought Thursby should be to the double-agent was fascinating in the subtle nuances.

Cinematography and effects are very well done for a low-budget film. The cuts to dream sequences and the surrealistic feeling of the post-brainwashing scenes were appropriately dizzying--very much got you into the character's feeling.

I rented this film, but am definitely considering purchase. I regret not having seen "Cypher" on the big screen, but it's good to watch it with remote in hand. Occasionally, you do want to rewind and look back. "Cypher" is not a film where you can blink or answer the phone and catch up.

As low-budget sci-fi movies go, this one is pretty damn good! Sure, if you think too much about it afterwards, there are flaws to be found, plot-wise. But... if you appreciate a good brain-twisting-thriller-sci-fi with a light touch of dark comedy, some very cool cinemnatic 'moments' and a quick pace, this is some good, yummy stuff!
For people who appreciate Brain Dead, ReAnimator, and other ultra-clever b-movie sci-fi/horror/fantasy extravaganzas!!!

This picture is very interesting to look at -- some of the images may remind you of "Metropolis", or even "Brazil" - others may remind you of "Edward Scissorhands". Honestly, however, the visuals were not enough to keep me interested in this strange and convoluted tale.

Like a Bond story (not) this movie pops around from exotic locale (a hotel convention room in Boise, Idaho) to exotic locale (a hotel convention room in Wichita, Kansas).

Our hero does give actor Jeremy Northam an interesting opportunity to play himself down. Usually seen in suave, debonair-type roles, the handsome Northam plays Morgan Sullivan, a computer dweeb from Madison, Wisconsin - and Northam manages a passable midwestern accent, as well. He got less dweeby and more handsome as the film progressed, which was a good character arc, and a relief.

This is where my interest in the picture stalled, however. The plot revolves around corporate espionage between two mega-giants: Sunways Systems and Digicorps Corporation. I guess the problem for me was that I didn't care about either corporation (no-one was wearing a white hat or a black hat), so didn't care which one of them had "control" of Northam's mind throughout his sundry brainwashing experiences.

Lucy Liu was lovely to look at, but quite flat in her demeanor. She was probably supposed to look sleek and sexy, but she looked bored to me -- even when holding a dripping syringe of green mind-control goo. By the end of this picture, I felt a bit as though I had been shot full of green goo myself.

This is a great film! It is well paced, thoughtful and completely engaging. I'm not going to reveal anything here, but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and the plot kept me guessing until the very end. I was very impressed with all aspects of the film, from the great acting and effects to the emotive power of the writing and very intelligent directing. This is a must see!

"Morgan Sullivan doesn't exist." So Sullivan is told when he is hired by infotech goliath Digicorp to be a corporate spy, operating under the alias Jack Thursby. "What's he like?" Sullivan asks. "What's his personality?" Finster, Sullivan's controller, answers, "He's anything you want him to be."
Sullivan is thrust into a series of assignments for Digicorp, surreptitiously recording speeches at a variety of industry conventions in off-track localities, Buffalo, Omaha, Boise. His wife is not best pleased that Morgan has undertaken a peripatetic part-time gig - he was supposed to sign on with the family firm. But Sullvan has warmed to his new personality, has developed a taste for premium scotch and Cuban cigarettes, for golf and sailing in the South Seas. "This is what I want to do." He assures Finster. "This is who I am."
As Thursby, he meets the enchanting Rita Foster in a hotel bar, but awkwardly flubs his pickup attempt. He begins to suffer excruciating headaches and terrifying nightmares. His marriage has become fretful and insipid. He pitches himself into the convention circuit - his life is a weary succession of airports, flights, hotels, washrooms, and banquet facilities set up for corporate seminars.
Awaking from one of his brutish nightmares, Thursby is drawn from his room to investigate distracting sounds, following them to the hotel roof where he is accosted at gunpoint by strangers. A leather-laced martinet approaches from a private helicopter. It is Rita Foster. She knows he is a Digicorp spy; she knows about the headaches and the nightmares. She gives him remedies and advice. "If Digicorp finds out you've met me, they'll kill you. Just remember who you are. You are not Jack Thursby. You are Morgan Sullivan."
Now completely devoured by the intrigue, his marriage a baleful shambles, his appetite for Rita Foster whetted, his cover blown, Sullivan cannot turn back. The pills Foster has given him are effective. She contacts him again, now more guardian angel than guarded agent, and rescues him from a session of "neural programming" intended to transfrom him into a mindless automaton.
He wakes from still another frightful dream into his fully fleshed alternate identity Jack Thursby, complete with a new wife, a new home, and a new assignment - to penetrate the spyworks of Digicorp's titanic rival Sunways Systems. He applies for a job at Sunways; he is unmasked. "According to your neurograph," he is informed by Sunways security chief Calloway, "...you're lying." Out of options, Sullivan agees to become a mole - to spy on Digicorp for the benefit of Sunways. "I want to talk to Rita Foster," Sullivan insists. But Foster doesn't work for Sunways. Who does she work for? Calloway discloses reluctantly, "She works for Sebastian Rooks."
Sullivan explodes. "Who's Sebastian Rooks?"
Thus the threads of Brian King's occluded plot entangle us. Morgan Sullivan is a human cypher, a fellow in the business of being someone else, an animated puzzle piece who has come loose from the grand design. Director Vincenzo Natali emphasizes the megapuzzle world Sullivan has entered with severe rectilinear backgrounds; every scene is an overwhelming array of right-angle geometry: squares, rectangles and equilateral triangles dominate every frame down to Sullivan's houndstooth coat and square-toed shoes. Digicorp headquarters is a shuddering Gothic cube against a desolate sky; the aerial view of Sullivan's neighborhood a bleak confinement of nestled boxes. The forceful point is made: in this checkerboard universe games will be played.
"Cypher" is painted from the noir palette. High contrast illumination neatly bisects places and faces into precise halves. Shadows lurk in every corner. A gray-blue cast imbues the entire film with necrotic dread. Natural color bursts into scenes so rarely that its serves an ironic purpose - it makes reality look fake.
Jeremy Northam's Sullivan wears the tentative half-smile of the man unsure of his surroundings but eager to please. His mild adenoidal voice tempers his declaratives: "Ah, Cohibas. My favorite brand." "Scotch. Single malt. On the rocks." He is treading water. At any moment, the uncertain sea might swallow him.
Lucy Liu's Rita Foster is a compact action figure, by turns sensual and phlegmatic, solicitious and forceful, endearing and threatening. She knows the game: is she a player or a pawn? Her eyes are as dangerous and inviting as a pair of chocolate mud pies. Her entrance is the first respite from the crushing angularity of Sullivan's enigmatic world, a soft silhouette of graceful curves framed by an ice machine in a hotel hallway.
No one does benevolent menace like Nigel Bennett. His Finster is a villain you hate to hate. There is no such comforting ambiguity in David Hewlett's sinister wall-eyed Vaultkeeper Virgil Dunn, Sunways Systems molebuster. The cavernous subterranean Vault is Vincenzo Natali's homage to "Forbidden Planet", as his neural programming scene is a respectful nod to "A Clockwork Orange." Timothy Webber is a flawless Calloway and Kari Matchett is silvery cool as faux spouse Diane Thursby.
Even with its stunning visual impact, its well-cast actors, and its mind-teasing plot, "Cypher" would be motionless in the absence of its arresting soundtrack. Michael Andrews sequences his simple eight-note minor mode piano theme into a half-dozen compelling variations that establish mood and intensify pace. Music and sound effects blend indistinguishably. The "Cypher" theme is the rail along which the film chugs, races or idles. In its complete statement over the closing credits, it is a satisfying three-section suite that induces emotional closure.
A sci-fi thriller need not pretend to profundity; its style may trump substance without disservice to integrity. "Cypher" is an aural and visual masterpiece, a smartly executed confection whose sounds and sights are their own reward.