Looper

[StevePulaski]

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis.

Rating: ★★★

Rian Johnson's Looper is an intriguing science-fiction film, with a devotion to story and plot that is larger than competitors of its genre within recent years. It elaborates where other films would cop-out and purposely mystify. However, like great science-fiction, it requires significant attention to its patterns, detail, and design - something I underestimated prior to viewing.

For that reason alone, perhaps Looper warrants another viewing on my part, just as a refesher. Constant evaluation seems worthless, as it so often does, an a crash course-research job seems oversimplifying. I sort of just want to experience the film again on its own terms before jumping random and arbitrary theories.

I'll keep the story relatively basic; we are now in 2044 (the present), where Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) works as a "looper." A "looper" is responsible for whacking the criminals mob members send from the future, 2074. Joe will wait in an empty field when a man, masked and on his knees, will spawn in thin air like a video game character before shooting the man with a loud, ear-shattering blunderbuss. He'll proceed to dispose of the corpse in a furnace. This whole process exists because, we're told, it's much harder to dispose of a corpse in 2074 America. Apparently, it's much easier to conceal and operate a time-traveling machine (which is illegal, mind you).

A looper, inevitably, meet their fate when the mob members eventually spawn their own self thirty years into the future. This is known as "closing the loop," and is feared and unexpected in the career of loopers. Joe finally meets his older self (Bruce Willis), who he recognizes since he lacks the obligatory "mask over face" deal, and proceeds to have coffee with him in a diner and a long discussion before discovering his intentions. Later in the film, he meets Sara (Emily Blunt) and her younger brother Cid (Pierce Gagnon), two locals living on a farm that wind up getting mixed up in Joe's predicament.

A small feature that seems to have gone unnoticed by the public is the terrific makeup job conducted by a team of over twenty specialists who deserve more work in the field. The goal is to make Gordon-Levitt resemble a younger, spryer Bruce Willis, and the result is surprisingly great. Imperfections, however, such as more makeup on the character than in previous scenes, have been dually noted, but posed no distractions for someone who sometimes feels underwhelmed by scenery and makeup effects.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt does some powerful work here, further establishing that he long ago assumed the impact and power as a character actor. From sci-fi, to action, to comedy, to drama, etc, it would be an understatement to regard him as just an actor; he's one of the most diverse souls in Hollywood today. Emily Blunt is anything but typical here, assuming a role that allows her to be brash, strong, independent, and something of a role model. Another surprising feature about Looper is its treatment of supporting characters, not simply giving the little ground to walk on. Jeff Daniels is great as Abe, the main boss, and Paul Dano, another terrific character actor who just showed untold potential in For Ellen and Ruby Sparks is Seth, Joe's pal who is fearing the worst after he "let his loop run" - meaning he failed to shoot the man after spawning.

Like almost all science-fiction films, one can dissect them apart in such an unforgiving way that nothing would be left except for confusion and plot holes. I do not consider in-depth analysis to be a conventional part of my film criticisms, although I feel inclined to question aspects in a more collective manner. For instance, why can't the mob spawn the men directly into the furnace, omitting the danger and inevitable, "self-inflicted" murder a looper must commit? Also, I reiterate the question of how hard can it be to dispose of a corpse in 2074, when time-travel equipment can be made seemingly easy to access for an already criminally-run sector of the population? Has the futuristic black market become something of an incalculable empire?

Looper does have a tad more explaining to do, but to its credit, its world and concepts aren't as arbitrary or as impossible as they sound. I could suspend most disbelief, much to my surprise. The future it paints isn't so much as flashy as it is attractive, detailed, and practical - like a high-resolution, digital photograph brought to life. Its crisp visuals and slick photography make it all the more captivating to watch and enjoy. One small aesthetic I, too, neglected to mention is the sound. For a science-fiction film, I was stunned at how effective it was at using auditory levels and sound editing. The use of genuine, abrupt sound is perfect when incidents like the first shot of the blunderbuss occur, or when Cid activates his extreme telekinetic powers. The effect is jarring and bombastic in the most stimulating way.

Johnson has proved himself to be a storyteller above anything with Looper as his attention and development to a world so close yet so foreign to our current one is an achievement. His writing scarcely falters and his talent as a director rarely does as well. Assisted by only competent talent and terrific uses of smaller aesthetics, Looper is a well-done science fiction endeavor that finally caters to a more demanding, unfairly rewarded demographic. I'd just love to see how the job of a looper would be marketed at a town job-fair.

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Pierce Gagnon, Paul Dano, and Jeff Daniels. Directed by: Rian Johnson.