Morgan Sullivan (Jeremy Northam) is sick of his life. He’s out of a job, he’s bored, he’s had enough of his wife nagging him to go work for her father and he’s sick of masturbating to Oprah reruns (I’m just guessing about that, it could actually be The Ricki Lake Show). He, is, in essence, like most of us.
See, Morgan is essentially John Q. Citizen. He is you, he is me, he is us. Here, Cypher seems to be saying “This is you today, does it look familiar? Your life is a boring little pile of crud.”
It’s a good start to a film, guaranteeing our attention. We all get depressed at times over how mundane our lives can be. We want to break free, to do something different, we want to ritually slaughter our neighbours just to change our daily routines, especially when they constantly complain that our trees planted along the fence are causing their driveway to crack. Mind you, these trees were there long before we bought the house, and I bet they didn’t have the balls to bother the original owners. Probably because all the people around here are friends and they’re all bloody old, real old. Then suddenly we move in, us being a young couple sandwiched between old farts to the left right and behind, and I bet they think they can tell these young whippersnappers what to do. Man, it’s just whinge, whinge, whinge. Would you mind cutting that tree? Your water is running off into our driveway. Keep your cats out of our yard. Could you argue a little quieter? Can you stop pointing guns at our kitchen window? Why do you have goats in your garage? It’s just question after question. One day, I swear to god, I’m going to snap and then I’ll settle everyone’s problems...
So, sensing that this is perhaps the direction his own life is heading, Morgan is naturally excited when he’s employed by a mysterious hi-tech firm to be an industrial spy. Saddled up with the new name Jack Thursby (sounds kinda superhero/superspy like, doesn’t it?), a new background and some natty gizmos, he takes to the national conference circuit acting out his new identity. Smoking, drinking and womanising, life’s a dream. Wife still nagging? No problems. The new Jack leaves her. This Jack don’t need no excess baggage, baby, so hit the road you soul sucking tramp.
At this point, Director Vincenzo Natali is saying “Let us show you how things could be..different, Morgan.” Cypher whispers seductively in your ear, you get that tingly feeling, the hairs on your neck rise, you breathe a little quicker, your wife tells you to stop getting so excited over a silly bloody film.
But, things may not be all that they seem. Heck, they never are, are they? Just when you think you have life collared and neutered, another dog comes around the corner and bites you on your arse. That’s why all dogs should be pulped and made into recyclable drink bottles.
Morgan, who is now completely transposed into the Jack persona, is approached by Rita (mmm... Lucy Liu) an enigmatic and mysterious babe who tries to convince Jack that he’s being tricked by his company, and that everything he knows and has been told about his job and his life is a lie. Jack, confused but turned on by the sight of Liu in stretchy rubber pants, isn’t sure whether she’s telling the truth or playing him herself for her own nefarious needs. Either way, she’s hot and if she says to take some little pills to clear his foggy mind, then heck, he’ll do it if it means maybe he’ll get some kinky monkey sex while smacked up on goofballs.
Alas, no monkey sex is to be, but before long the mindbending truth is revealed to Morgan/Jack, only instead all being laid bare before him, it exposes a more complicated chain of events which unravel his existence even further.
Deep, exciting stuff, huh?
Actually, it’s far better than I’m able to elucidate.
Themes of deception and existence, questions of reality and the balance of trust over love, Cypher appears outwardly a science fiction tale, but ultimately boils down to a love story. Granted, the love story is buried nice and deep below layers of sterile sets, duplicitous characters and immoral corporations, but it is what it is, and agreeably never suffers for it.
Jeremy Northam plays Jack Morgan to the hilt, creating a droll corporate lackey enjoying his short time of obliviousness in what he considers a new fantasy career far removed from his staid position as an accountant. It’s hard not to like what Northam has done with his role and likeable characterisation goes miles to making us root for the confused good guy.
As for Lucy Liu, well, what can I say? She’s always a sight for eyes bludgeoned with mediocrity, and she isn’t asked to stretch what little actual acting ability she has demonstrated in her past roles. “Stay quiet, act enigmatic and look damn good!” seems to be her motivation for her role as Rita (or any other role for that matter), the self-proclaimed savoir of Jack with a few secrets of her own.
The film itself I think has been unfairly compared to the Matrix series. All it shares in common is the sci-fi elements and the concept of questioning an individuals reality, otherwise Cypher plays the game closer to an approachably less gobbledygooked dialogue-filled future and doesn’t have to suffer through interminable fight scenes to capture your attention. They are two completely different films, and frankly this is far more entertaining than the final two installments of the Matrix trilogy anyhow.
Finally, it might be a little silly of me to not mention that this is the second feature film from Vincenzo Natali, director of sci-fi fave Cube. With Cypher he shows that he can handle a larger budget, more expansive story and bigger production with a dab hand that should shame some directors with budgets more than ten times what he had to work with.