Ephemeris of the Mind (Film Review) Looper
Time to read: 2 min read
Movie Poster
I saw it. And the path was a circle. Round and round. So I changed it.
Previous Rian Johnson film reviews:
Review
This is one of my favourite time-traveling films and I recently rewatched it with my girlfriend. The premise of the story is that in the distant future, it becomes impossible to dispose of a body due to the advanced tracking. Enterprising criminal organizations now send people they want killed to the past, where hitmen known as loopers kill them and dispose of their bodies. The caveat is that these loopers, in the distant future, will get sent back themselves to be disposed of in order to “close the loop”. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) fails to close his loop as his older self (Bruce Willis) escapes.
As expected, the story has themes of dystopia and nihilism and the cinematography has a bleak and subdued look. Despite being technically the same person, Gordon-Levitt’s young Joe is a perfect foil for Willis’ old Joe and I enjoyed the scenes with them together. The supporting cast, which includes Emily Blunt’s tough Sara, Paul Dano’s desperate Seth, and Jeff Daniels’ fatherly Abe, all play their roles very well and the dialogue is well written. Even Pierce Gagnon’s child character is solid. I also like the subtle details such as the relationship between Noah Segan’s Kid Blue and Daniels’ Abe. The universe of Looper is the right mix of realism and science fiction where it’s grounded enough to be believable but fantastical enough to be entertaining. The story does have some tropes but is overall very original; I especially enjoy the details about how the past affects the future. The ending is kind of mediocre but very fitting.
Conclusion
An original sci-fi story.