DVD Review: 12 Monkeys (1995)

The incarcerated James Cole (Bruce Willis) plays a strong-minded sociopath in a world where a mysterious virus wiped out 99% of the world’s population, forcing the remains of humankind underground. Electing to travel back to 1996 to identify the source of the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, Cole must report back to the scientists to obtain a pardon for his release.

Mistakenly sent to 1990, Cole is again incarcerated in a mental institution under the care of Dr Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe). Befriended by Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), Cole explains that a virus is being created which will destroy humanity. Goines, amused with Cole’s rendition of the future, helps him escape. When Cole is captured, he is placed in solitary and disappears back to the future.

When Cole returns to the correct year, 1996, he kidnaps Dr Railly and explains that the world is going to end. Gradually, Cole convinces the sceptical doctor of the truth who in turn, tries to convince her colleagues who believe she is suffering a delusion called the Cassandra Syndrome: a psychological anomaly where people disbelieve the perceptions of an individual, regardless of their personal suffering.

When Dr Railly is convinced of Cole’s determination to find the Army of the 12 Monkeys, she also draws close to Cole emotionally. Those feelings appear reciprocated, but Cole tries to remain emotionally distant from the frightened doctor.

After find the Army, Cole and Dr Railly try and stop them from releasing the virus, realising too late, that facts based on assumptions are dangerous facts indeed.

I don’t want to give away too much information, but this is a brilliant film. It has a deep and rich storyline, coupled with fantastic acting by Willis, Stowe, and Pitt. They take such an unbelievable circumstance and turn it into possibilities, drawing a world that is difficult to flaw, much like Will Smith’s performance in I Am Legend.

Pitt’s performance in the movie Seven was good, but Jeffrey Gonies is by far his best character. He is a tortured but hilarious soul who believes that his father is a virologist (and, as it turns out, was telling the truth). There are numerous subtleties to his personality that flavour the movie – one never knows what he is going to do next, and whether he is telling the truth or not. Personally, I think he stole the show.

The movie had components of many other movies, but not intentionally. I have already published articles based on end of the world scenarios with respect to viruses creating ‘zompires’, but this movie is different. There are no unworldly creatures that morphed from human form. There are only animals. As such, the animals once again roam the lands and samples are taken for the scientists.

One peculiarity that struck me in this film, was the role of these ‘scientists’, their involvement in the governance of the underground, and how they were combating the virus. It is infinitely unclear as to why an institution could not be built above ground for people to live in, and why nothing proactive was being done. On the flip side of this coin, the story follows a convict, and the movie is therefore told from a convict’s perspective. It is fated to lack particular details regarding the new society imposed upon the survivors.

Overall, this is one of my favourite movies. There are interwoven plot lines that are genius to see come together, characters to believe in, conclusions to hope for, and questions on the brink of the story that remain unanswered, leaving a resonance that makes one want to watch it all over again!