"The Cell" (dir. Tarsem Singh, 2000)

Tarsem Singh, most famous for R.E.M.'s very effective Losing My Religion video made his feature film debut ten years ago with The Cell. The film serves almost as a predecessor to Christopher Nolan's Inception as it's a science-fiction thriller that deals with going inside someone's mind. Whereas the critics of Nolan's film pointed out that his straight-forward and non-surreal approach to the subconscious betrayed the very potential of the film, I would much rather see his realistic depiction of the dreamworld than Tarsem's over-designed, cliché depiction.

The Cell tries to present itself as a visionary work with its imagery and attempt at psychoanalysis but only ends up further revealing itself as one giant cliché. Take a look at this very example of Tarsem's "visionary" imagery :

There's absolutely nothing in this scene (or entire film for that matter) that I haven't seen in a Nine Inch Nails or Marilyn Manson video before. I am all for a film that revels in imagery, mood and atmosphere but you have to give me something genuinely interesting. Within a music video you can tell a story entirely through bombastic visuals (or even with the help of the actual song some times, hey) but 106 minutes of shallowness becomes incredibly grating. With his next feature, The Fall, Tarsem was at least able to mature his storytelling abilities but unfortunately his visuals remained as typically music video-ish as ever. I'm not doubting that the man has talent, because his aforementioned "Losing My Religion" video proves that. Within 4 minutes and 45 seconds Tarsem tell a more thematically compact and compelling story than either of his two features. His subversion of religious imagery actually feels interesting and powerful. I will leave you with it so as not to be a complete downer.