After all the secrets lurking within 10 Cloverfield Lane have been revealed, after all its mysteries have come unraveled and you’re leaving the theater, that’s when the pure weirdness of what you have just witnessed hits you.
This is a movie with two entirely different plots that run parallel but never fully intersect; first, there’s the suspense film of a woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) locked in a survivalist’s bunker who is unsure whether she can trust the man (John Goodman) who says he saved her from nuclear or chemical fallout. Then there is the truth that gets revealed near the end, which, although indeed dire, is not the sort of thing someone would need to conceal or lie about to someone they don’t want leaving. And once the truth is revealed, nothing that happens in the first two-thirds of the movie has any bearing on the resolution. You shouldn’t have to think this much about whether you liked a movie.
The first film from commercial and webseries director Dan Trachtenberg, 10 Cloverfield Lane begins with Michelle (Winstead) leaving town after breaking up with her fiancé, amid vague news bulletins about power outages sweeping through the country. After a sudden, violent car crash, Michelle wakes up chained to a post in a cement room, seemingly held captive by a man named Howard (Goodman), who says mysterious things such as “Nobody’s looking for you” and gives vague explanations about why they can’t go aboveground. Just enough of what he says seems trustworthy, with occasional glimpses of what may either be insanity or sadism.
The best thing 10 Cloverfield Lane could have done for itself was choose another title that did not directly link it to 2008’s Cloverfield. Inviting the comparison to the earlier film means people go in with too many expectations of a movie that claims to be proud of its secrecy. We either assume it’s part of the same universe as the first film or focus so much on looking for clues that we don’t pay attention to the things the movie actually does well. The performances, every single one, are excellent, and the characters are fully realized at levels that far exceed what the script demands. Winstead’s performance as Michelle propels the character beyond the limits of what could have been yet another miscellaneous, bland-but-tough protagonist. John Gallagher Jr.’s take is funny, smart and charming as Emmet, a dimwitted yet charming yokel. The mystery surrounding Goodman’s character is palpable; there definitely is something wrong aboveground, but is it as he describes? Even if he kept his captives from dying, he is far from a savior, and Goodman’s ability to shift gears effortlessly between lovable weirdo and terrifying loose cannon is nothing short of stellar.
Audiences will see the film on IMAX, but this is entirely unnecessary as most of the film takes place in the same cramped location, and the way Trachtenberg chooses to wrap things up feels yanked out of an entirely different movie. Despite strong characters and the groundwork for an intriguing premise, 10 Cloverfield Lane never quite comes together, not unlike a puzzle that’s missing crucial pieces that Emmet attempts to assemble.
10 Cloverfield Lane
PG-13, 103 minutes
Violet Crown Cinema and Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX
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