This week's GREAT SELECTION is tied to an actor that has disappeared for a while but not has come back in some movies such as The Grand Budapest Hotel and now, the latest Independence Day sequel. But, Jeff Goldblum's best performance to date is in a movie that combine elements of horror, science fiction, romance and a bit of Greek tragedy if you think about it in a remake from the 1958 version which was all right. However, the remake is vastly superior because along with Goldblum's performance, the chemistry between Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis, who plays a journalist researching his character and his character, is what propels the horror story forward otherwise the movie would not have been remotely good.
What impressed me more watching it recently and it has been a long while since watching the movie, it is how David Cronenberg, the director, has structurally and gradually elevated the suspense by seeing Seth Brundle's transformation of the fly from both a physical and psychological standpoint. He is strong physically, yes, but emotionally, he is weakening and gets out of control regarding his strength and losing some of his flesh slowly. But, it also affects Davis' character too as she investigates what he is turning into and it is startling.
Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), an eccentric and introverted scientist but genius, is being interviewed by Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis), a journalist who is a meet-the-press event at Bartok Industries. He takes her back to his warehouse that serves both his home and laboratory and shows her project "that will change the world as they know it". His project is a set of "Telepods" that will transport objects and certain animals from one place to another. It is some sort of Star Trek upgrade if you think about it. Brundle convinces Veronica to keep the project quiet in exchange for exclusive rights to the story. She begins to take notes on the story.
After a failure regarding a baboon turning inside out in its teleportation because the computer is not capable of transporting animate objects or beings, Brundle and Veronica soon begins a romantic relationship. It inspires Seth to reprogram the Telepod computer in which he successfully transports a second baboon. They celebrate and Seth wants to have a romantic dinner with Veronica but she leaves abruptly. He thinks that Veronica is secretly rekindling with his former lover/editor, Stathis Borans (John Getz). Just out of spite, Seth experiments himself via transportation while drunk, unaware that a housefly is in the pod. He comes out seemingly normal.
After Seth and Veronica reconcile, Seth begins to exhibit some benefit effects which improves his strength, stamina and sexual pleasure. As Veronica observes some hairs on his back, Seth wants to have Veronica be in the telepod which causes him to become violent and aggressive as he heads to a bar, where he arm-wrestles a stranger to win a woman's night to have sex with her. It results with the stranger having a compound fracture. After the night, Veronica comes back and reveals that the hairs on his back are not human. Seth checks his computer's records, discovers that the Telepod merged him with a fly. Uh-oh!
This is a fantastic movie but the trouble I had after finishing the movie, which is not a critique, is what does the movie fall under when in comes in terms of genre. Is it a horror movie? Is it a sci-fi movie? Is it a tragic romance? I believe it is all three of those genres but more toward science fiction movie because that is how the movie starts regarding Goldblum's character and his experiment. Again, the teleportation is in tribute to the Star Trek movies. But, the movie is fascinating by exploring his intelligence regarding computerization and science.
The core of the film is the romantic relationship and it both balances extraordinarily well with a loving tone and melancholic tone. Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis portray their characters quite well as they both are wrapped up in a cocoon of a secret relationship and secret project simultaneously but it is their quirkiness and flaws that takes their relationship to the next level and I, in my opinion, think that this is an underrated romantic couple. And, it is ironic because they were a couple in real life back then after researching the movie.
Regarding to the melancholic tone, it ties into the horror aspect but, it's more like the psychological horror aspect as we observe Seth losing flesh, fingernails and hair. His decay is not the only tragedy but Veronica's agony is another because her love sort of grows as he is mutating.
*SPOILER ALERT*
But, when Veronica becomes pregnant, her agony grows worrying that the baby would turn into a hybrid character. And, that's when the movie shifts in darker and a sadder tone as we worry about Veronica more than Seth because we know that Seth was going to transform. In that act, we also see Stathis being elevated to the main male character taking control of the situation. But, also, I have to acknowledge Chris Walas, who got an Oscar for Best Makeup, by creating the "Brundefly" creature but in detail in a graphic nature. It is not pure gore but it is a graphic transformation of the fly.
This is David Cronenberg's best movie in my opinion because he combines so many genres real well that takes control of the Seth-Veronica relationship and situation. I do love A History of Violence but this is a great movie. Although, one of the characters comes out of the movie intact, you feel like you just got through an unsettling and tragic experience with those characters. "Be afraid, be very afraid". Well, you will not be scared, but you'll get turned off in a couple of scenes.
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