Oblivion (2013)

Oblivion is one of the best films I’ve seen in cinema in a long time. 

I love reading about films which often leaves my boyfriend baffled (to him, thinking of the meanings in films, let alone reading about it, is a pointless act).

To me it's a very interesting process. Sometimes by reading about a film I like it more, sometimes vice versa.

Oblivion is definitely one of the top films in 2013 on my list.

Firstly, I was only bothered by the introductory voice-over for a fraction of a second – perhaps there were other ways to present the story, but it definitely leads audiences into Jack’s mind and sets the “facts”.

I was quite confused by Victoria’s actions and at one stage thought she may be a cyborg. However, it was evident that Victoria could not be a machine judging by her selfishness. One IMDB reviewer said it very poignantly about the reason she stripped down naked half-way through conversation – she was silently telling him “Follow me if you want me”. She did not care what he wanted or what was the truth – she only wanted to keep him, for her purposes.  Her reactions were very subtle yet you could tell a lot was kept under the surface waiting to burst. 

These subtle actions reminds me of older films (such as Sunset Boulevard), where I was often left to wonder why an actor did something, without much voiced or explicitly expressed. 

The only character whose performance was quite jarring was Julia. She was a visually well-presented contrast to the by-the-book, other-worldly Victoria; a dark wild beauty who ruins Tech 49’s routine life by just dropping out of the Sky.  However, the actress did not play the role very well. The only time that she was mildly interested was during the revelation on the Empire State Building. In fact, at one stage I though the only explanation was that she was part of a greater plan to lure him in.    

I have not seen many Tom Cruise films, as I didn’t find his looks particularly attractive and that was where the emphasis used to be.  Admittedly, he has aged well (or, should I say, had almost no visible aging?), and is a very charismatic actor. I think he was a great choice – you know it is Tom Cruise being Tom Cruise, yet he can both fight and love very convincingly. 

This film, as much as it is a science fiction, it is a love story between humans, between life and Earth, and a fantasy. Like Contact, is in its core a human psychological story wrapped around science-fiction, something I really love.  

And finally, my favourite piece of music, also titled Oblivion, from Piazolla.

 

 (Originally written on 14/4/2013, this was an incomplete article. I had a lot to say, but it's pointless now the time has passed. Perhaps, when I watch it again.)