Subject: REVIEW: THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU (1996)

From: [email-masked] (Michael Redman)
Date: 4 Sep 1996 17:42:03 GMT

THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU
                       A film review by Michael Redman
                        Copyright 1996 Michael Redman

** (out of ****)

Remember the scene near the end of "Apocalypse Now" where the boat
finally makes it to the village? What they find is a hidden society
filled with inhabitants involved in strange rituals and run by the
bigger than life God-King Marlon Brando. This film takes that village
even further into the Twilight Zone.

Edward Douglas (David Thewlis) is rescued from a life raft after
drifting for days in the Java sea when his plane crashed on the way to
his assignment as a UN peace negotiator. He is taken to a lush island by
an increasingly crazed doctor -- or is he a vet? -- Montgomery (Val
Kilmer).  The place is run by Dr. Moreau (Marlon Brando) who is splicing
human and various animal DNA in order to create the perfect non-violent
being.

Of course things fall apart. Montgomery starts the dominos tumbling by
killing a rabbit for dinner, then dead rabbits are found around the
island. A manimal is killed because he killed and dirty dog Hyena takes
over. Trouble in paradise. Almighty Brando can't keep them under control
as they revert more and more to their animal selves.

This is the third film based on the H. G. Wells book and is visually
hypnotizing. Each scene on the island is overflowing with mood and
movement. Men, animals and everything inbetween crowd the dark and
mutable screen. Montgomery's warning to Douglas describes the entire
film, "Be careful, there are a lot of unstable phenomena out there." 

Like much of "Apocalypse Now", there's far too much going on to catch it
all and that's the way it's supposed to be. The over-stimulation crowds
your senses, leaving few details, but creating a massive impression of
foggy and breathtaking eeriness.

Brando's Moreau is beyond outlandish as he is carried on a litter,
dressed in a muumuu, coated with pancake makeup and giving forth the law
while swamped and worshipped by his creations. Kilmer is just a bit less
bizarre as the drug doctor heading into insanity. His Brando Junior
impression is a masterpiece of the grotesque and fantastic.

Yeah, the extravagant make-up, sets and dark and murky feel of the film
are grand, but occasionally the story rears its ugly head and that's the
downfall of the movie. The religious overtones are extremely heavy
handed and the add-on preachy montage at the end is just horrid. Very
little happens for a reason. Characterization is minimal and often
sacrificed for sensationalism. We have no idea who any of these people
are or what lead them to the situation they find themselves in. The
animals are easier to care about than the humans.

See this film if you're up for a disturbing visual treat, but don't
expect anything beyond that.

[This appeared in "The Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana,
8/27/96. Michael Redman can be reached at [email-masked]]