Cypher (film)
Cypher | |
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Directed by | Vincenzo Natali |
Written by | Brian King |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Derek Rogers |
Edited by | Bert Kish |
Music by | Miramax Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
Countries | United States Canada |
Language | English |
Budget | $7 million[1] |
Box office | $898,365 (international only)[2] |
Cypher (also known as Brainstorm and Company Man), is a 2002
Plot
Morgan Sullivan, a recently unemployed accountant, is bored with his
Rita gives him pills to cure his pain and nightmares and tells him not to transmit at the next convention. After the convention, Digicorp confirms the receipt of his transmission, though Morgan had sent nothing. Sure that something strange is going on, Morgan takes the pills Rita gave him and finds that they work. Confused by what is going on, and intrigued by Rita, he arranges to meet with her again. At the meeting, she tells him about Digicorp's deception and offers him an antidote – a green liquid in a large syringe. Morgan hesitantly accepts. She warns him that no matter what happens at the next convention he must not react.
Morgan discovers that all the convention attendees are spies as he is, all thinking themselves individual spies working for Digicorp. While they are drugged from the served drinks, plastic-clad scientists probe, inject and brainwash them. Individual headsets reinforce their new identities, preparing them to be used and then disposed of. Morgan manages to convince Digicorp that he believes his new identity. He is then recruited by Sunway Systems, a rival of Digicorp. Sunway's Head of Security, Callaway, encourages Morgan to act as a double agent, feeding corrupted data to Digicorp. Morgan calls Rita, who warns him that Sunway is equally ruthless, and that he is in fact being used by Rita's boss, Sebastian Rooks. Morgan manages to steal the required information from Sunway Systems' vault, escaping with Rita's help.
Rita ultimately takes him to meet Rooks. When she temporarily leaves the room, a nervous Morgan calls Finster, and becomes even more distressed. He accidentally shoots Rita, who encourages him to ignore her and meet Rooks in the room next door. Morgan finds the room filled with objects which appear to be personal to him, including a photograph of him and Rita together. Realising that he is apparently Rooks, he turns to Rita in disbelief.
Before Rita can convince him, the apartment is invaded by armed men. Rita and Morgan escape to the roof of the skyscraper as the security teams of Digicorp and Sunway meet, led by Finster and Callaway. After a short Mexican standoff both sides realise they are after the same person, Sebastian Rooks, and rush to the roof, where they find Morgan and Rita in a helicopter. Rita cannot fly it, but, having designed it himself, Sebastian can after Rita encourages him to remember his past self, connecting through his love for her. He lifts off amid gunfire from the security teams. Finster and Callaway comment as the couple seem to have escaped:
- Callaway: "Did you get a look at him? Did you see Rooks' face?"
- Finster: "Just Morgan Sullivan, our pawn."
Looking up, they see the helicopter hovering and realise, too late, the true identity of Morgan Sullivan. Sebastian triggers a bomb, causing the whole roof to explode. On a boat in the South Pacific Ocean, Sebastian reveals the content of the stolen disc to Rita. Marked "
Cast
- Jeremy Northam as Morgan Sullivan and Jack Thursby
- Lucy Liu as Rita Foster
- Nigel Bennett as Finster
- Timothy Webberas Callaway
- David Hewlett as Virgil Dunn
- Kari Matchett as Diane Thursby
- Kristina Nicoll as Amy Sullivan
- Boyd Banks as Fred Garfield
- Marcus Hutchings as Jamison
- Denis Akiyama as the speaker at the Omaha convention.
Reception
The film received mixed reviews. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 58% rating based on reviews from 19 critics.[3]
Derek Elley of
Some critics found problems with the film's complex narrative. Paul Byrnes of The Sydney Morning Herald found that the plot overwhelmed the characters so much that he "stopped caring".[8] John J. Puccio, writing for Movie Metropolis, thought that "[Cypher's] corporate espionage plot doesn't prove simply too complicated, it ends up downright muddled", but concluded that the film was nevertheless "still kind of fun".[9]
For his performance in Cypher, Jeremy Northam received the Best Actor award on the 2002 Sitges Film Festival in Catalonia.[10]
References
- ^ Nahigyan, Pierce (19 September 2013). "Cypher (2002) Retro Review". Post Script Productions. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ "Cypher (2002)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
- ^ "Cypher (2002)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
- ^ Ellery, Derek (23 July 2003). "Review: 'Cypher'". Variety. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ Smith, Neil (4 October 2003). "Cypher (2003)". BBC. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ Weinberg, Scott (1 August 2005). "Cypher". DVD Talk. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ Newman, Kim. "Cypher". Empire. Archived from the original on 17 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ Byrnes, Paul (August 14, 2003). Cypher review Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ Puccio, John J. (8 August 2005). "Cypher - DVD review". Archived from the original on 5 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ "Archives - 2002". Sitges Film Festival. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.