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I wanted to see how deep the movie would go in the premise of the paranormal expert debunking psychics in a thriller called “Red Lights”. The first two acts of the movie had me intrigued. But then, as it is in all movies, it fell apart. Why do so many movies feel the need to cram in mindless action sequences? Does there have to always be a draw to do so?
I was forced to imagine how well the casting department must have done because things could not possibly go worse than this. Sigourney Weaver plays Margaret Matheson, the scientist who is all business as a researcher who specializes in debunking the claim of psychics. Picture James Randi. Weaver, like most people endowed with power, has the uncanny ability to talk down and make her listeners feel lowly.
Other than that there is no other self claimed psychic Weaver has ever met that she has not been able to bust. However there is one. He is memorably named Simon Silver (Robert De Niro), a blind mentalist who dedicates his life to spoon bending. This man has a hypnotic power over audiences and an uncanny stage presence. And De Niro allows him to embody something more — a haunting aura of preternatural mystery.
As it turns out, Matheson and Silver have been on a crash course throughout their entire lives. Her career is irrelevant unless she can usurp him, and his is meaningless until he overcomes her investigation. I mean, isn’t that the essence of a brilliant framework?
Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy), a wide-eyed younger coworker, joins Matheson in her investigation alongside eager intern Sally Owen (Elizabeth Olsen). On the other side, there’s Paul Shackleton (Toby Jones), a snide academic who students Matheson’s argues with opposing the Silver’s dominance.
Actually, he better. That is the only thing that keeps so-called “psychic” investigators in business, the rest are as good as dead. Remember the poor saps who owned audible horses? Exactly.
Constructing the drama of “Red light” with his own beguiling stage presence, De Niro is able to suggest that Silver does more than just bend spoons. But these are just feats of showmanship, I would prefer if he explained how and what he does in greater detail.
As of now, over 100 million Netflix customers have streamed “Red Lights,” an accomplished piece of work. The film “Red Lights” was also very clever in setting the scene. It was written and directed by Cortes, who you may remember from “Buried” (2010). Cortes’ work is known for his mastery in telling a tale from the camera’s perspective. “Red Lights” is told through the eyes of a director who knows how to construct a narrative and create a certain level of anticipation. Still, in the end, it does fall apart. I sometimes wonder if there was an early draft. Unfortunately, for most film lovers, the ending does not meet their expectations. To be honest, I believe changing the ending to conform with the preceding story would be more appealing to most viewers.
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