Film: Knowing (2009)

This one had passed me by until now, and I knew nothing about it before watching. Be warned – there are some spoilers in this review since it's difficult to write about the film without them, but I'll try to keep them to a minimum.

The plot concerns the opening of a "time vault" buried at a school fifty years before, which had been filled with examples of the children's work. One of the envelopes turns out to contain a page of numbers in apparently random order. Professor John Koestler (Nicholas Cage), the scientist father of one of the present-day children, first becomes intrigued by what the numbers might mean then increasingly horrified as he realises that they seem to foretell major disasters – decades before they happened.

He tries to discover the origin of the paper and tracks down Diana Wayland (Rose Byrne), the daughter of the girl who wrote the paper and now, like Koestler, the single parent of a young child. Meanwhile his son begins to hear strange voices in his head, inhuman-looking men begin to watch their house, and Koestler becomes increasingly desperate in his attempts to discover what is going on. I am not a fan of Nicholas Cage, but in this film he is well suited to the permanent state of agonised bewilderment his face seems to have been designed for.

The first part of most stories tends to set expectations in terms of how the plot is going to develop. I assumed that the two leads would get together, resolve what is going on, and all live happily ever after. What actually happens is far more surprising and intriguing than that. The story veers off in an unexpected direction in the final scenes, shifting from fantasy to science fiction. 

These days the description "adult movie" is taken to mean explicit sex and and nudity, but there is none of those in this film. Instead, it is adult in a different way, in that it follows the plot through with a ruthless logic that is decidedly untypical of Hollywood. On the way, it includes some of the most frighteningly realistic crash sequences I have ever seen. The story reminded me of a novel I reviewed here in March 2010, Library of the Dead by Glenn Cooper, and it has an equally dramatic and unexpected ending. The only problem with the SF ending is that in retrospect it sits rather uncomfortably with the fantasy beginning. Despite this, Knowing is a film that is worth watching.

Matter, by Iain M Banks

Iain M. Banks died earlier this year at a sadly young age, after establishing a reputation as one of the most literary SF writers of his generation. He wrote non-genre fiction (as Iain Banks) as well as SF. Most of his SF novels are set in the Culture, a galactic humanoid utopia in which almost inconceivably advanced technology provides everything that is needed, immensely capable Artificial Intelligences sort out the mundane business of running civilisation (the most powerful, known as Minds, usually being established in vast spacecraft or space habitats with quirky names), and citizens are mostly free to do whatever they like – live forever, change gender or even species, travel the galaxy. There are various alien civilisations in close contact with the Culture and a lot of others that are not, plus human planetary settlements that don't enjoy the same benefits. Relationships with such peripheral groups are handled by an organisation called Contact, and they apply less diplomatic means when required by means of Special Circumstances, whose agents are kind of blend of James Bond and Jason Bourne with comprehensive bio-electronic enhancements.

Matter is mainly set in one of the peripheral human civilisations outside the Culture, which has occupied part of the Shellworld called Sursamen. Shellworlds are artificial constructs made by an earlier and long-gone civilisation aeons ago. They are habitats the size of large planets and are made up of fourteen concentric hollow spheres, each one providing a land surface comparable with a conventional planet, held apart by a million vast columns through which travel between the spheres is possible, and lit and warmed by thermonuclear "suns" tracking across the 1,400 kilometre-high ceilings. The Shellworld is one of the stars of the novel just as the Ringworld is of Niven's eponymous novel, its curiosities being described in detail including a huge waterfall which is cutting rapidly back through the soft earth, revealing the remains of a forgotten city of great age and sophistication.

Different species occupy different spheres of the Shellworld, but the humanoid civilisation on the eighth and ninth layers is at a kind of feudal steampunk level, still engaged in fighting wars of conquest.  The main focus is on the nation called the Sarl that occupies the eighth layer and is engaged in battle with the Deldeyn of the ninth. The Sarl are mentored by an alien species, the Oct, which have developed an inexplicable interest in the forgotten city, especially in the latest excavations which have uncovered something rather strange. There is treachery and tragedy afoot among the Sarl, which draws home a princess of the ruling family, Djan Seriy Anaplian, recruited as a child by Contact and now a Special Circumstances agent. The story switches between Anaplian and two of her brothers until they are finally drawn together.

As is typical of this author, Matter is a long and complex novel in which the creation of atmosphere and background takes precedence over the action for most of its length. It is full of rich descriptions of places, people and situations, flavoured with Banks' usual wry humour. This slow start means that dramatic tension suffers, although in the latter part of the novel the pace rapidly accelerates towards the explosive conclusion. Until then, this story is not a gripping page-turner but if you like Banks' style, you won't want to miss it. In particular, the Shellworld is an invention that is likely to stay in the mind for a long time.

TV - Under the Dome (2013) and other series

Based on a Stephen King novel (which I haven't read), Under the Dome is set in the present day and concerns events inside a small American town that is suddenly and mysteriously sealed off from the world by an invisible dome-shaped force field several miles across. Cue some dramatic crashes and slicings-in-half as the dome arrives.

The focus in the early episodes (I've seen the first three so far) is entirely on the impact of this event on the townspeople and visitors who are caught there, with all sorts of personal stories and devious schemes being gradually revealed and people showing their true colours under the stress of the situation. We are not shown anything about what's going on outside the dome (except for the sight of biohazard-suited people performing tests on it) nor is there any hint as to how or why it might have appeared. Bizarrely, there is no attempt by those outside the dome to establish communications with those within, which if anything like this happened in reality would be a first priority. While radio waves don't reliably penetrate the dome, it would be simple and obvious to erect message boards on both sides.

Also, apart from one brief mention, no-one has so far expressed any concern about what would rapidly become the priorities as a result of the shut-down of mains electric power. First there is the piped water supply. If the source were outside the dome, it would be cut off immediately. If inside, the towers providing water pressure would soon run dry as they need electric pumps to keep them filled. Then there's the availability of food. Shops normally keep only a few days supply of food (rather less for perishables) and much of that will be frozen or refrigerated, as will be the food in people's homes. With no power, except for a few places with their own generators, that will quickly spoil, so only dried and tinned food will be available, plus whatever happens to be growing – and ripe – in fields and gardens. While there seems to be plenty of farmland and a lot of cows within the dome, it takes months to raise crops, and people might get tired of nothing but beef to eat. And incidentally, when the generators run out of fuel, how will they be refuelled? Without power, the gas stations won't be able to operate. You could probably get around that issue by moving one of the generators to a gas station, but nothing like this has even been mentioned. In fact, the main problem with the loss of power identified so far is that teenagers can't recharge their phones and media players (without which, of course, their world comes to an end), and the only response to potential shortages has been someone bulk-buying cigarettes.

As a result of this peculiar omission of such obvious practical issues, so far it's just a routine "disparate group of people trapped in isolation" story, with the mysterious dome being merely an excuse for this. There's no evidence in the first few episodes of anything that we haven't seen before, but it's just about interesting enough for me to persevere with for the time being, in the hope that it improves.

Fringe continues to impress (I'm now in Season 3) with Anna Torv playing Agent Olivia Dunham (actually two of them, in parallel worlds) still very much the highlight of the series. The way she shifts body language and expressions depending on which Liv she's playing is fascinating; the uncertainty and vulnerability of the "original" Liv, the result of experiments she was subjected to as a child, being replaced by the bold swagger of the confident "alternate Liv" who did not experience that. The progress of the plot threads is somewhat erratic, with some episodes focusing on carrying forwards the intriguing parallel worlds mystery while others take a time-out for more or less unrelated X-Files type weird events. I am becoming a bit irritated with the increasingly overt product placement, though. I don't mind the characters driving around in cars provided by a sponsor, but it's too much when they start commenting on them too.

I am impatientily awaiting the arrival on DVD in the UK of the third season of Game of Thrones (due February) and the second season of Continuum (due who knows when?).

Shattered Icon, by Bill Napier

Bill Napier first came to my attention when I read The Lure, reviewed here two years ago, which I said was "one of the most thoughtful, realistic and exciting first contact novels I've ever read." Shattered Icon (also sold as Splintered Icon) is the fourth of his books I've read.

As is often the case with Napier's novels, there are two interleaved stories. The principal one is set in the present day and concerns the search for an icon which is claimed to contain a piece of the "True Cross" on which Jesus Christ is said to have been crucified. The key to the search is an ancient encrypted manuscript that is believed to contain the clues needed to find the icon. This tells the story of the British 16^th century Roanoke expedition to found a settlement in North America, as seen through the eyes of a young crew-member of one of the ships.

The protagonist of the main story is Harry Blake, a former soldier now working as a dealer in antiquarian books and manuscripts, who is asked to research the background to the Roanoke manuscript to determine its authenticity, a search which takes him to Jamaica. On the way he is aided by two young women, one a historian the other being the owner of the manuscript, and is opposed by some shadowy but ruthless forces.

So far we seem to be in Dan Brown territory, but Napier is a very different author. Apart from being a better writer, as a professional scientist he believes in getting his facts straight and his speculations realistic. His plots are throughly researched, the account of the Roanoak expedition being thoroughly convincing as well as a gripping adventure; there is some intriguing detail concerning early encryption systems and some of the finer points of radio carbon dating; and a summary of the legal situation with regard to the ownership of such an icon is both thought-provoking and amusing. I do enjoy being informed at the same time as being entertained.

Napier is something of a cross-over author, his plots ranging from SF through techno-thrillers to more solidly based myseries like this one. There are no fantasy or sf elements in Shattered Icon beyond the icon itself, but it is still a worthwhile read for those who enjoy such tales, being both exciting and educational. As usual the characterisation is somewhat sketchy, but it is adequate to carry the story. Recommended.

Film: Aeon Flux (2005)

Aeon Flux kept cropping up on TV with some rather lukewarm reviews but I finally decided to watch it and make up my own mind. It is set in a future in which all but five million people had perished in a world-wide plague some four hundred years before. The survivors had been gathered together in one city, walled off from the rest of the world, and ruled by the hereditary Goodchild family who had originally developed the vaccine that had saved the survivors. Life was generally good for the inhabitants but, as always, there were some who were determined to overthrow the Goodchilds' rule. Aeon Flux, played by Charlize Theron, is a member of the resistance movement and their most accomplished agent. The film focuses on her story as she tries to break the domination of the Goodchilds.

At first I found the film rather unpromising, as the characters and the combat action were so stylised and unrealistic that it was like watching an animated comic strip. So I wasn't too surprised when I checked on it afterwards to find that the original inspiration was indeed a comic strip. Apart from some futuristic settings, Theron is really all that makes this part worth watching (she looks terrific as the black-clad black-haired agent). I must admit I was impressed to read that she had been injured during the making of the film while performing a series of back handsprings as part of a stunt routine – not something you'd see many Hollywood A-listers attempt, I suspect.

The second half of the film is much better than the first, as the plot becomes increasingly complex with unexpected twists and turns and some interesting SF ideas, and it becomes clear that the situation is not at all as it had seemed, on several levels. The conclusion is appropriate and satisfying. I couldn't help reflecting that the film, without any plot or even major script changes, could have been made entirely differently by ditching the comic strip elements in favour of more realistic characters and action in the Gattaca style, and it could then have been a really good SF film dealing with some serious themes – an approach I would have preferred.

The film was a commercial failure, which doesn't surprise me, but if you can get past the beginning the second half makes it worth watching. As does Theron!