An Ordinary Truth: A Review of Cloverfield.

This is a film that even Vertov would have approved of. If a sense of verisimilitude is the current ‘in’-thing, then this one has clearly tried to take things to the next level. And gosh darn it I love it for it. I’m not particularly a fan of horror, nor films about American teens and their (ahem) ‘angst’ and Cloverfield has both. But this film manages to appeal to me in an effective way.First off, despite the fact that hand-held camera movies have been done to death in the last few years, here the low budget aesthetic becomes so much starker when CGI is captured on-screen – and this is where the sense of realism kicks in, and undoubtedly was precisely the intention.However, I would argue that verisimilitude is shown in a more cultural fashion than a simple ‘amateur’ effect (though this is always an obvious starting point). Sure, the head of the Statue of Liberty crashing down a busy street looks realistic, but far more indicative of a cultural phenomenon (and therefore perhaps more ‘truthful’) is the scene of passers-by filming the aftermath on their camera phones. Were this real Youtube would be inundated with this footage within minutes.It’s quite a good skill to be able to sustain some sort of narrative in a film that attempts uber-realism (only Christopher Guest movies spring to mind) and the only camera used is the one the actors’ hold themselves, but somehow Cloverfield manages to convey this, even if some of it is lost in a mish-mash of improvisation leading to redundant snippets of dialogue. But then is this not like real life anyway? - a constant mix of narrative and gibberish with no omnipresent script editor to cut out the waffle? But for me the most effective part of Cloverfield is the constant theme of ‘ordinariness’ – a strange juxtaposition in such a high concept, contemporary idea, but the fact that we see the action unfold from (supposedly) ordinary citizens gives a unique take on a film involving a giant rampaging creature. Not for this story the all-important scientist/soldier/superhero messiah who saves the city in other similar concepts such as Godzilla or Independence Day - in these films the heroes have to do their jobs whilst thousands of screaming passers-by run for their lives on the sidewalks below. But what about the stories of those passers-by? Every single one is an individual with a backstory and that’s the appeal here. Spielberg attempted this briefly in his version of War of the Worlds, and to good effect (even using a similar verite style) but at the end of the day it’s still a Spielberg film, and that’s still Tom Cruise running from the aliens. No, here there’s no staccato orchestral score, close-ups of the beast or high matte shots of the destroyed skyline, Cloverfield goes for the Mean Streets (literally).However, it could also be argued that the effective realism it aims for could be construed as too effective. Whilst technically not in the same sub-genre as United 93, or even Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, there are eerie connotations to 9/11 peppered throughout – the sudden explosions, the ensuing chaos (even a slowly approaching dust cloud), the appearance of the army on the New York streets and the glimpses of emergency services seemingly powerless to stem the tide of ever-growing casualties. All this of course re-presented in ‘amateur’ DV – the same style and format any of us would have seen in the majority of 9/11 footage. Parallels were clearly meant to be drawn, but here the ‘truth’ was probably too close for comfort for American audiences. I’m always fascinated with how filmmakers have responded to 9/11 in cinema, and the most obvious angle the makers of Cloverfield have gone for here is the sense of uncertainty as to what it is that has caused destruction and chaos. Ok it may seem ridiculous comparing a massive monster to Middle-Eastern terrorists, but it will forever be this generation’s Atomic threat and Commie-watching of the 50’s, and Cloverfield may just be last year’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers. (Certainly American foreign policy following 9/11 seems to have certain connotations with the McCarthy trials but that’s for someone else to examine)It may be high-concept, have a large budget, full of CGI and contain annoying actors, but you know what? I don’t care. It’s different enough to be interestingly effective, and proof that not everything in a disaster story involves the authorities in charge, and that those in the usually faceless crowds do matter and have a story to tell – as the ‘anonymous henchmen’ in Austin Powers can attest. Granted, there are films in which this method of storytelling may not work. Would the political intrigue and scandal of historical dramas such as Elizabeth and The Other Boleyn Girl have worked if we followed the subject rather than ruler? Extra-marital affairs, political alliances and murderous betrayal, or clearing out dung and dying of leprosy? Actually there’s a film in that somewhere…