The Triangle

Issue date: 1/25/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: imdb.com

With the release of The Transformers this past summer came a trailer featuring no title and a rather intense depiction of the decapitation of the Statue of Liberty's (undersized) head.

Unimaginable hype and online viral side-stories surrounded the then nameless film. This movie, whatever it is, was going to be an unforgettable experience like no other. Fast forward half a year later, the film now bears the name Cloverfield. It has been classified as a monster movie, and the hype is still as heightened as ever.

The film is now being referred to as America's Godzilla, which is definitely a compliment to the filmmakers, but it also pigeonholes the movie. The film was shot entirely by handheld cameras and the plot plays out entirely from the perspective of this camera, with quick edits that make the 80 or so minutes you spend in the theater seem like one homebrew cut.

The movie introduces itself as "found footage," putting rumors that the movie's events were all in real-time to rest. This footage was retrieved from "what used to be known as" Central Park in New York City by the Department of Defense after the series of events that are now being referred to as Cloverfield.



The first stretch of the film bounces back and forth from a going away party for the film's protagonist, Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David), who has taken a job as vice president of a Japanese company, and intimate footage from a month earlier of Rob and long-time friend, only-recent lover, Beth (Odette Yustman) spending a day together.

The month-old footage helps explain the emotional tension between Beth and Rob and to prove that the monster in the film is only a plot device. It also proves that Cloverfield actually features a strong coming of age, awakening of love tale dressed up in a post-apocalyptic white bed sheet. The first portion of the film, taking place at Rob's going away party, also sheds light on the tension between Rob and Beth as well as introduces all the primary victims (or, characters) that you will soon be following through this hellish tale.

While I personally thought the film would have been just fine being a comedy, staying in a light mood with jokes be tossed side to side, my innocence was soon crushed; the party was brought to a halt as the building was shaken with the intensity of an earthquake. The electricity is knocked out briefly, reviving shortly after without a hitch, allowing for a few seconds of false security. The dark side of this film has begun.

Continued...

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