This past weekend I managed to see 10 Cloverfield Lane, the newest film from JJ Abram’s production company ‘Bad Robot,’ which was imbued in intrigue as the only things I knew about it as I walked into the theater was that it shared a name with JJ Abram similarly cryptic 2008 Godzilla-knockoff/viral-marketing-extravaganza ‘Cloverfield’ and that it featured John Goodman in a starring roll. Despite possessing very little in the way of expectations about the film, save for a sense of intrigue, I thoroughly, save for one crucial scene, enjoyed ’10 Cloverfield Lane.’
'10 Cloverfield Lane’ is the story of a girl, Michelle, who, after breaking up with her boyfriend (played by a disembodied Bradley Cooper), suffer a car accident and wakes up in the bomb shelter of a rather capricious survivalist named John Goodman (who’s character’s name I happened to forget), who claims he saved her from an apocalyptic event of an ambiguous nature. But his controlling nature and violent temper lead to conflict between John Goodman and Michelle.
Dear God, do I hate writing synopses.
Any who, one of the aspects most deserving of praise in this film is the direction of Dan Trachtenberg, who was making his feature film debut. Now, every review will praise the way he ratcheted up the tension in the bunker scenes, using the oversized John Goodman against the tight, claustrophobic confines of the bunkers interior to creature a nightmarish juxtaposition that leaves an audience feeling wildly uncomfortable. But even the opening scene, of Michelle gathering things from her boyfriend’s apartment, is a deft display of visual storytelling. We learn, from just a few shots, lots of information about Michelle as a character, Who she is, what she’s interested in, what she finds important.
My only serious gripe with ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ lies with the films ending. In which, after melting John Goodman with a bucket of acid, Michelle makes her way outside of the bunker only to see alien spaceships patrolling the deserted Louisiana bayou. I was hoping the film on this shot. It seemed like the perfect level of mind-fuckerry to wrap up a wonderfully claustrophobic thriller about crazy people trapped in a bunker. But it didn’t end. Instead it devolved into a bizarre, tonally jarring chase sequence that can only be described as a mix between North-by-North-West and Independence Day (but if both of those things were heinous crime against film). I literally sat in the theater praying to any God who might hear me to make the movie end.
‘Please,’ I begged the heavens, ‘Make this hell stop! This movie was perfect.’
But if anyone heard my plea, they didn’t listen, and the chase went on for what felt like twenty minutes of pointless CGI-explosions and aliens I cared nothing about.
I should also note that this film has little of any pertinence to the 2008 film. I'm not sure if taking the name 'Cloverfield' was merely a cheap marketing ploy, or if the CGI-tastic extraterrestrial guest stars are supposed to be related to the Cloverfield monster in some way. This does little to detract from the film's quality, unless one goes in expecting some sort of grand connection to the other Cloverfield movie.
Despite the films needless foray into Michael Bay-land at the end of the third act, ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ is a worthwhile movie, as well as a promising debut for director Dan Trachtenberg. I give this movie a score of three-and-a-half out of four stars, recommending it to anyone who likes well-crafted, nuanced, psychological thrillers.
