Looper

Looper is set in a dystopian 2044 where time travel is controlled in secret by organised crime. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Joe, a “looper” whose job it is to assassinate targets sent back from the future. Joe and his colleagues are under threat when the unseen powers-that-be decide to “close the contracts” of all the loopers and begin sending their future selves back in time for execution. Levitt comes face to face with his future self (Bruce Willis) and fails to execute his target. Joe must track down and kill his older self before his contract is terminated.

Rian Johnson has proven adept with three different genres (film noir, con movie, Sci-Fi) but to dismiss him as a genre director would be wrong. Brick, The Brothers Bloom and now, Looper all have an idiosyncratic charm and wicked humour that has become a staple of Johnson’s work. Looper is certainly the most ambitious of the three and Johnson proves himself more than competent with a bigger budget and a mega-star in Willis.

The acting is expectedly terrific. Levitt superbly apes the cadences of a Die Hard-era Willis and injects his character Joe with a desperate violence and sadness. Willis is in suitable bad-ass form again who is willing to do anything for what he thinks is right. Blunt is also a wonderful addition to the cast whose character will greatly benefit form repeated viewings as her motivations do not become apparent until the third act. Jeff Daniels also stars in a supporting role as a gangland boss sent from the future who controls the Loopers and effectively the present in 2044. The real acting tour de force however comes from 10-year old Pierce Gagnon who commits a blistering performance of depth and intensity the likes I have never seen in an actor so young.

Looper poses many questions and gives a very un-Hollywood take on the future. Over thirty years into the future, China seems to be the dominant economic force, yet the characters deal with in silver and gold as currency. Solar panelling is never focused upon but every car and building seems to have one. Johnson has built an intrinsic and detailed world but these details remain in the background and will certainly reward future viewings much like Sci-Fi’s magnum opus Blade Runner. It is, however, the time travel aspect of the film that gives us the lasting thought provoking questions: nature versus nurture and whether violence is a cyclical result of both. Willis’ character seems hell-bent on violently clearing up his past to preserve his future but the violent past will always come back in haunting retribution.

Johnson has not delivered a classic but Looper is a fascinating and exhilarating film. It may not to be everyone’s taste but this could have “cult status” written all over it. This film, with its high concept, seems like it would be a studio-backed blockbuster, particularly with the inclusion of Bruce Willis and Joseph-Levitt Gordon who have had their fair share of mega hits. Yet this is an independent production that is an original screenplay. Johnson, like Christopher Nolan and to a lesser extent, the Wachowski siblings, has shown that a proven property or franchise is not the only product for the mainstream film market. Film-makers like Johnson have something to say and limited resources to say it with – proving cinema’s future very bright indeed.

 4/5