If Alfred
Hitchcock had done a science fiction film, it might have looked
something like Paycheck. Taking one of Hitch's favorite
themes, that of a man wrongly accused of a crime he did not
commit, director John Woo's latest throws in a spin (literally)
from Philip K. Dick.
Ben Affleck's
Michael Jennings isn't so much innocent as ignorant; if he
did do what the government fears he did, he has no way of
knowing. In lieu of confidentiality agreements, Jennings gets
his memories wiped by the corporations he works for. As for
what he reverse-engineered for his "friend" Rethrick (Aaron
Eckhart), it hardly matters, nor for that matter is it actually
particularly believable. Just a macguffin, another favorite
Hitchcock device, that only exists to drive the characters
along the plotline.
The resulting
film isn't fantastic, nor does it really aim to be. It's a
lightly stylish thriller that has the makings of an intriguing
videogame, and for once, that's not an annoying trait to have.
Whatever Jennings did, he was canny enough to send himself
clues in the form of innocuous personal effects. Twenty items
in a manila envelope, and the audience may be barely ahead
of Jennings as he figures out what to do with them. By adding
an element of a game into the film, it makes it just a little
bit cooler than it had a right to be.
In between
dodging bullets from the F.B.I. and the villainous Wolf (Colm
Feore), Jennings tries to piece together the past three years
of his life. Complicating matters is a scientist with whom
he clearly built a relationship, Rachel (Uma Thurman). What
her specialty is also doesn't matter much; she may be working
on controlling the weather but nobody seems to care about
that.
Yes,
Paycheck is sloppy in its logic the way Woo's films
tend to be. But after the dreary Mission: Impossible 2
and Windtalkers, Woo has found his way back to making
up for lack of sense with a relentless pace. Toning down his
trademarks, Woo takes Dean Georgaris' script and pumps it
full of action. Though he still uses a lot of stand-offs to
provide slight breathers, he never lingers on them, and the
few bits of slow motion here are a lot less pretentious than
they have been in past films.
The film
also casts Affleck better than he has been used in at least
a year. One thing the guy never seems to be able to shed himself
of is a slight cocky unlikability, a trait shared by his character.
From the outset, we see that Jennings does questionable things
as a hot-shot engineer. While he may not be committing illegal
acts, he certainly skirts the edge of morality in his work.
Even Jennings has to question what terrible thing he could
have done to warrant a clear change of conscience before his
mind-wipe. Affleck plays that growing confusion well, letting
the audience in and ultimately making them root for him.
Opposite
him, Thurman struggles to make Rachel more than just a weepy
love interest. For the most part she succeeds, though granted,
she's dealing with a sense of betrayal from a man who really
doesn't remember doing it.
Once
again, Eckhart proves himself as adept at playing slime as
he is good-heartedness. And Paul Giamatti has a few amusing
moments as Jenning's memory expert, Shorty. It's clearly the
kind of role Giamatti can do in his sleep, taking it for the
paycheck (kaff kaff), but if it allows him room to do more
films like American Splendor, then more power to him.
Paycheck
delivers a decent time at the movies. And if we're lucky,
it might distract us for a while as a PC game.
