Phenomenon

Phenomenon

Auburn, California served as the filming location in town. Most of the businesses were still working and depended on the traffic brought about by the movie even today.

Last night, my husband and I were combing through the television for a movie that would satisfy us both and came across this one. I’ve never heard of this movie before and anticipated that it was one of those old movies and so expected it to be boring whereas it was made in 1996, to be exact.

Which is why I’m glad we did. It gave us a sense of satisfaction to finish the film despite its length, because it was quite inspiring and had legendary performances by John Travolta (in a strange role for him), Robert Duval and Forest Whitaker.

It is not a movie that will leave you in silence and boredom, as one has to think and wonder about the questions it raises long after one sees “The End” on the screen. What more does one want from a movie?

John Travolta plays George Malley,a skinny 37 year old garage mechanic with strong morals who is not above average in intellect and lives in a Spanish-flavored small town. He suddenly gets into shock as a flash from outer space strikes him on his birthday, and out of the blue he is swarmed with intelligence. Thereon, his thirst for knowledge escalates and drives him to strive for a higher force in life.

On a sudden note, George as he was known by many has since then ceased to exist. People tend to give him odd stares, because no one likes surprises. It suffices for them that George is George and nothing more or less so that they are not displeased with his unchanging role in their lives.

A chess undefeated, An earthquake predictor and a strange vibe sniffing George sounds brilliant but is terrifying. It implies that surprises exist for what they could be hence, people are scared.

Doc (Robert Duvall) is possessed by such thoughts, the only one who quickly gets used to the new George, whom he warms up like a son and believes, as every man should, in the greatness of humanity.

Another one is Nate (Forest Whitaker) who is George’s best friend and naive enough to examine George closely and come to the conclusion that he has not changed. With them, George can also express his euphoria caused by the numerous discoveries that he was assisting with every day.

Phenomenon has some parallels with the 1968 film Charly. But if Charly was retarded and George is average, they are both receiving intelligence at its best. But those who have seen Charly already know from the beginning, where the movie is probably heading.

The character who receives the utmost attention among the movies best lines is Robert Duval who explains the purpose of the film to the town’s people telling them that the only reason they are afraid of the New George it is because it stands for change and it tells them that there is still a lot to their lives and they are just coy to use it.

In an era where there seems to be no logic and the most nonsensical thing is the target to reach, such admiration for learning new things, bettering oneself and utilizing the potential within is truly commendable.

I absolutely agreed on the message, but I must say this movie is a perfect example of how a strong message can be diminished simply because the base is all over the place.

There are too many plots and too many subplots in this work so that the main idea is seemingly lost as the film progresses.

The most annoying one is George’s courtship of Lace (Kyra Sedgwick). The pacing on their whole romance is so sluggish, you could probably go to sleep and it won’t matter. And when it finally picks up, it’s as if you’re struggling to understand the cause or reason for this escalation.

Aside from this drama, there are other plots which are intended to make the circumstances for George more difficult but none of them are not convincing and it is as if it was included in the plot just to provide more layer of difficulties.

Phenomenon could have been a better picture had it dared to extend the limits of its plot a little further and actually introduce more difficult or threatening aspects for George and the world that he inhabits.

It could have suffered from more coherent storytelling and lack of unnecessary plots. But that is not what it is about. It is about transformation, tolerance and love, and it touches those three bases very well even though it is never really quite there.

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