Film director Brian De Palma has time after time proven his artistic genius by giving audiences thrillers that not only have gripping plots, but also characters to whom we can relate. De Palma is often lauded for his ability to combine these aspects with a keen sense of what makes a film interesting visually, and he has oft been called a successor to Hitchcock's legacy. De Palma has been highly rewarded for his hard work when masterpieces such as Dressed to Kill, Scarface, Carrie, and The Untouchables all found success at the box office as well.
With SnakeEyes, De Palma tries again to strike gold by teaming up with David Koepp, the man with whom he coauthored two of his most recent films (Carlito's Way and a little-known film you might have heard of called Mission Impossible). Koepp also just happens to be the guy who adapted Michael Crichton's work twice for Steven Spielberg so he could make some movies about dinosaurs. De Palma and Koepp try in this film to recapture a little of the magic that made their previous collaborations not only blockbuster smashes at the box office, but also just plain cool films.
They almost succeed with this tale of a sleazy Atlantic City homicide detective named Rick Santoro (played by Nicolas Cage) and his attempt to run down the facts surrounding the assassination of the U.S. Secretary of Defense at a heavyweight championship boxing match. De Palma's chances certainly were not hurt by his decision to pick Cage to play the lead. Cage does an excellent job, as we have come to expect from him, in making us despise his character's corruption in the beginning of the film, and then slowly through the course of the film leading his character, and the audience, down the road to redemption as the story unravels.
Another wonderful performance is delivered by Gary Sinise, who plays Santoro's childhood friend Kevin Dunne. Now grown up and a naval commander working in the Department of Defense, it is his job to guard the Secretary. But when he is drawn away from his post mysteriously moments before the shots are fired, Dunne blames himself for the Secretary's death. There is an obvious chemistry between Sinise and Cage; both are able to play off of each other well as Santoro helps Dunne come to the realization that he is not to blame for the assassination, that he was purposefully drawn away, and that there may be more to this story than we know.
The story itself is interesting and is told with a style that is literally stunning. As Santoro interviews witnesses (or are they suspects?), we actually see the events through their eyes, and the audience is forced to put the pieces together on their own. De Palma also reveals to the audience who the villain is early on in the film, so that we are on the edge of our seats watching him interact with other characters who are unaware of his true motives. This technique heightens the tension already inherent in the film so that the audience will be pulled in further, unable to turn away from the screen.
De Palma displays his visual genius early in the film by opening with a sequence that is one continuous shot. Everything that you see from the beginning of the credits up to the assassination is one sequence; there are no cuts. The fast pace of the opening really sets the mood for the entire film, as well as establishes Santoro's character. In this manner De Palma introduces the film and its subject matter in an unique and intriguing way. One cannot help but admire the precision it took from everyone involved in the film to make this sequence look as flawless as it does.
The setpiece of the film, the casino in which all of the action takes place, was built from the ground up, and the production designer is to be applauded for the attention to detail that it was given. The casino itself adds to the tension, trapping everyone inside of its walls. Throughout the film you come to feel caged in, a deliberate effect achieved masterfully by the set designers and aided by the thousands of extras at first screaming for blood as fight fans and later clawing to get out after blood has been spilled.
But the film does fall short in several areas. There is an entire subplot dealing with a hurricane that is raging outside the casino which I felt was completely unnecessary. This plot was designed to add to the tension, symbolically reflect the characters' inner turmoil, and to provide a reason why everyone is stuck inside the building, but I thought it was completely uninteresting and ineffective. The fight itself, which was the focal point of the opening, was also not interesting at all, despite the fact that De Palma reportedly hired the fight trainer who worked on both Rocky and Raging Bull to choreograph these scenes. It just seemed a little too unrealistic.
And I know I am not alone in saying that the finale was rather disappointing. Test audiences didn't like the original ending, which apparently had the entire casino being obliterated by a tidal wave, and De Palma himself wasn't completely satisfied with the end result. I felt it was trite and formulaic, not at all keeping with the action of the rest of the film. It soured the whole experience of watching the film for me, because the simplicity of this anti-climactic conclusion cheapened the earlier tension I had.
Still, the powerful visuals and excellent acting redeem the film. These elements, combined with a story that can seem ridiculous at times but which still grabs you, make SnakeEyes worth seeing.
