The very first thing I said to my boyfriend as we left the theater after seeing Looper was, "If you didn't like that movie, we are breaking up right now." Luckily, he agreed with me and thought it was the best movie we had seen this year.
Quite a few years ago, I happened upon a little indie movie called Brick. When I was growing up, I wasn't like normal kids and while they watched animated Disney movies, I watched movies like Chinatown and The Maltese Falcon. So Brick, which married film noir with high school, seemed like it was almost tailor made for me. Plus, it starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt, an actor who I loved since his days on 3rd Rock from the Sun. It also co-starred an actor named Noah Segan who I had never seen before but who I gravitated to immediately. Plus, it was written by this first time writer / director named Rian Johnson. I immediately thought "No one writes dialogue better than this guy" (and I still feel that way all these years later). Brick and these three guys quickly became personal favorites. A few years later these three teamed up again for The Brothers Bloom which was just as good with characters so vivid and dialogue so fresh. Needless to say, I was excited for Looper. I had high expectations, for sure. I knew it would be good, but I wasn't completely prepared for how great it would be.
Looper takes place in 2044 in Kansas. Time travel hasn't been invented yet, but 30 years in the future it will have been. It will immediately be outlawed but, since it will be impossible to hide a body in the future, some very mean men will use it as a way to transport their targets back to "present day" where special assassins (loopers) will kill the targets, dispose of the body, collect their fee, get high using eye drops, party with hookers and so on. When a mysterious and super deadly figure called The Rainmaker takes over in the future, he begins to do something called "closing the loop." This means that the loopers future self will be sent back to be disposed of. In the case that this happens, you kill your future self, end your looper contract and go on your merry way, where you can live your life for the next 30 years waiting for the day your fate comes a-calling. But, unforunately for Joe (Gordon-Levitt), his future self is portrayed by Bruce Willis, so when he hesitates for just a moment, Older Joe, since he is Bruce Willis, proceeds to be a complete bad ass. He knocks Younger Joe unconscious, steals his truck and takes off into the city. Younger Joe wakes up knowing he's got to find his older self and kill him before his boss (Jeff Daniels) sends his thugs (led by Noah Segan) to find him. The cat and mouse game eventually leads to a farm owned by Emily Blunt's Sara. She lives there with her son, Cid (Pierce Gagnon), and they take in Younger Joe.
Honestly, the plot sounds more confusing than it is. And this is thanks to Johnson's stellar writing. Time travel movies can usually veer into confusing "what is happening" territory but that never happens with Looper. It's mind boggling and keeps you thinking but it's never difficult or impossible to understand or follow. The greatest thing about Looper is that you think it's about one thing - this showdown between your current and future self - but that's only really the first 30 minutes or so. Then Emily Blunt shows up. It quickly becomes something else entirely and I'll say it, something so much better than I expected. But the best writing and directing in the world can't help you if you don't have the right cast. And Johnson has the perfect cast.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an actor I am so familiar with. I loved him when he was starring in little-seen indies (Manic, Mysterious Skin) and I loved him when he was stealing very big movies from actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises). But here, in Looper, he's nearly unrecognizable thanks to make up that makes him look more like Bruce Willis. His performance is intense and searing and it's made all the more real because he completely becomes someone else. Speaking of Willis, he's great too. When I first saw the trailer, I thought the make up effects were going to be distracting. I didn't think Gordon-Levitt looked anything like Willis, but I was wrong. When they are together on screen, you can see it. Although, I will argue that it's not even necessary. The two actors have such a great chemistry that it doesn't even matter whether or not they look alike. Willis manages to be a tough bad ass (like in the scene where he SHOOTS EVERYTHING!!!!!) and imbibes that with tenderness. Even when his character is doing despicable things, you still feel for him. Emily Blunt all but steals the movie for me. Her emotional and subtle performance brings a whole lot of heart to this movie. I know Looper may not be the kind of movie the Oscars love (although they did nominate Inception and this is just as good, if not better), but I'm holding out hope for a Best Supporting Actress nominee for her, as well as a Best Original Screenplay nomination for Johnson. Daniels does a stellar job with a small role as he manages to be both funny and ferocious. Paul Dano is, I think, the only actor under 30 who can hold his own on the screen with the likes of Daniel Day Lewis and Robert DeNiro so, of course, he manages to bring a whole lot to a very small part. Pierce Gagnon was 5 years old when they made this movie but somehow manages to deliver a performance so devastating that it's hard to believe he hasn't been in the business for 30 years. Then there is Noah Segan. I've followed his career closely and I'm so impressed with his Kid Blue, a villain but also, maybe not. I found his character fascinating and of all the great characters in this movie, I wanted to know more about him. I didn't see him as such a bad guy. Just someone who is so eager to please, that he'll do just about anything for someone to tell him he's doing a good job (and we can all relate to that!). This movie will surely put him on the map and I'm not entirely prepared to share him with the world. It's that weird moment when your favorite thing is about to become really popular. I mean, you want to hold it close and keep it to yourself, but at the same time, it's your favorite thing for a reason so, really, it should be everyone's favorite thing. So, you're welcome world. You can share Noah Segan with me.
I hope this review made some sort of sense and it wasn't just be babbling for however many paragraphs. I have been thinking and talking about this movie non stop for two days and so it's hard to sort through all of my thoughts. This movie gives you so much to think about it. Johnson is officially three for three in my book and I'm so excited to see what he does next. Looper is the sort of movie that will inspire a generation. In fact, in twenty years or so, the next generation of filmmakers will be asked about their influences. I think they will cite the complete works of David Fincher, last year's Drive and Looper. And that thought gives me a lot of faith in the future of the film world.
Grade: A
Labels: Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Noah Segan, Paul Dano, Rian Johnson
