The Mothman Prophecies
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alan Bates, Debra Messing, Laura Linney, Richard Gere, Will PattonDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: German (Subtitled); German (Original Language), DTS 5.1; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Published), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: NTSC
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 119 minutes
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of The Mothman Prophecies
Movie Review: More to the story than the Mothman...
Summary: 5 Stars
The real roots of this film almost seem to be more about GRIEF and LOSS, wrapped around the element of supernatural mystery.
This is why the film works as well as it does.
The sci-fi element is cut almost completely, except for a few hardly noticable brief snippets-they ran out of money to film a sequence where much of the town gathers at the cement plant to watch mysterious things happening in the sky, which I would presume, as in the novel- UFOs putting on a dramatic and eerie display above.
In many ways the Mothman almost plays second fiddle to Kleins grief and longing for his dead wife-exploited in mysterious and unfathomable ways by Indrid Cold.
These beings come from a world where ordinary rules of logic dont apply.
And as the late Alan Bates notes-"Their motives arent human."
It is especially chilling when he offers the coda to his and John's final conversation of knowing WHY: "Were not supposed to know"
Interestingly, each character has a variabley played musical cue/theme:
Mary, before the auto accident and later, twice, as her photo becomes the center of the screens attention.
And then Connie, both in revealing to John her dream, and as John rescues her from her submerged vehicle.
And then there is the menacing, eerie Mothman theme, first heard as Mary goes under the CAT-scan in the hospital.
All of these have very deep emotional impact and meaning, at least to myself.
In the scene where John finally 'gets' that he is being toyed with, and that his wife is really gone, pulling the phone from the wall, Mary's cue is played a final time, and as her picture is closed in upon, in the background we hear the flapping of wings, and a deep sigh, as if to signal closure, and that Cold/Mothman is moving on, finished toying with Klein, and perhaps the sigh is signalling that Mary's soul is finally at rest.
Later, as the bridge collapses, if you listen closely, you can hear her tell John to "Jump" as John watches Connie's SUV sink underwater-as if telling John to finally let go, and move forward to rescue his new friend, companion, and possibly more-we never know for sure.
I like the way that Connie and Johns romance is implied and grows, and is not obviously displayed as is usually done in Hollywood movies-and you know by the end, as they lean on each other in blankets, that John has finally fully let go of Mary for Connie-but after this is left open-ended.
And Will Patton gives an under-appreciataed perfomance as a simple, working class-man coming into contact with elements he cannot fathom, and seemingly a friendship with a much more sophisticated and worldly man of status-Klein.
In this situation they are equals, under the spell of Mothman-and at a loss as to know what this means to them.
Lucinda Jenny has almost cameo appearences, but her Hospital hallway scene is remarkable, as is the grief she shows as the ambulance takes her husbands body away.
Laura Linney plays her part in such a way that we see very clearly her sincerity, sensibility, and her general unselfish lovingness.
First time viewers may not notice, but the "Y" motif signifying the Mothman is a little over the top as once or twice would have been fine-it reminds me of watching the 1960's BATMAN on TV, as a swirling logo spins onscreen, and an announcer intones excitedly: "Meanwhile, back at the Batcave.....!"
OR maybe there is a conection...
The closing of the film was remarkable-there were to "final" explanations, or character resolves, as in a typical Hollywood movie.
It simply shows John and Connie dazed, but safe from the disaster-and surely bonded in a very strong way, as the camera pulls back from the chaos.
Thats it-no loose ends are tied up-like in real life-which may confuse viewers used to being led around, or TOLD what is happening..
They filmed two versions of the last minute of the film-and chose the ending for those with red-state IQ's.
Anyone with an attention span should have picked up on that as the Chief tells John that 36 are dead, we know that Connies 'Wake up #37' dream has come to pass-no need to hit us over the head with it.
The opening and closing music by the group Low, and the score by 'TomandAndy' are also remarkable.
A 4.5 out of 5 star movie-which decimally makes it 5 stars from the pull down rating numbers above.
Summary of The Mothman Prophecies
Described by director Mark Pellington as "a psychological mystery with naturally surreal overtones," The Mothman Prophecies begins like an ambitious episode of The X-Files. Richard Gere brings adequate torment, portent, and ambiguity to his role as a Washington Post reporter and grieving widower plagued by a mysterious, unseen urban legend known as the Mothman. Pellington develops subtle doom and gloom that's as effective as the paranoid streak he brought to Arlington Road. As the Mothman terrifies a West Virginia town, he remains an enigma, glimpsed almost subliminally. This--along with a magnificently creepy soundtrack--amplifies the movie's surreal overtones while keeping everything else (unsettling phone calls, prophesied disasters, suggestions of the afterlife) completely unexplained. With Laura Linney and Debra Messing in underdeveloped roles, The Mothman Prophecies feels a bit underdeveloped itself (and ends in desperate need of Mulder and Scully). But if you like your weirdness open-ended, this moody thriller's worth a look. --Jeff ShannonSimilar DVD Movies
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