Cast: Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert
Director: Josef Rusnak
Producers: Roland Emmerich, Ute Emmerich, Marco Weber
Screenplay: Josef Rusnak & Ravel Centeno-Rodriguez based on the novel "Simulacron 3" by Daniel F. Galouye
Cinematography: Wedigo von Schultzendorff
Music: Harald Kloser
U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Virtual reality films are becoming so common that they probably deserve their own sub-genre. Had The Thirteenth Floor been released several years ago, it would have generated some interest based solely on its central conceit: that the "real" world might actually be a simulation on someone's computer. To one degree or another, however, this possibility has now been explored in a series of movies ranging from 1998's Dark City to 1999's The Matrix and eXistenZ. It's no longer a new concept, and when a movie like The Thirteenth Floor fails to do anything interesting with it, the result is dull and disappointing. And, while one doesn't expect great art from producer Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Godzilla), something a little less somnambulant would have been appreciated.
The Thirteenth Floor is a plodding and poorly placed movie that incorporates elements of film noir and science fiction into a product that looks good but is otherwise unappealing. The meandering plot is almost entirely lacking in suspense. The characters are paper-thin and the acting does little to imbue them with vitality. There's really only enough substance here to justify a short film; twenty minutes would have been about the right length.
The film opens in 1937 Los Angeles with a distinguished looking man named Hammond Fuller (Armin Mueller-Stahl) finishing off an evening at an exclusive hotel. He pays a hooker, leaves a sealed letter with a bartender, then goes home to his wife. Once in bed, he returns to the real world of 1999, escaping from the computer simulator he has been visiting. Fuller has discovered something startling during his travels in the virtual world, but, before he can convey the information to his friend and co-worker, Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko), he is murdered. Hall, who is Fuller's primary beneficiary, is the chief suspect in the killing, and things become more complicated when Fuller's daughter, Jane (Gretchen Mol), arrives from Paris to visit her father. Meanwhile, Douglas is certain that the information to clear him of wrongdoing can be found in the simulator, so, armed only with his wits, he pays a visit to 1937 Los Angeles even as Detective Larry McBain (Dennis Haysbert) builds a case against him.
The Thirteenth Floor does a lot of bouncing back and forth between 1937 and 1999, but not much happens in either year. There's a little romance, a gunfight, and a couple of low-key action sequences, but this is the case of a movie that thinks it's smarter and more intriguing than it actually is. The ending is telegraphed far too early. 30 minutes before the climax, I knew with certainty how things were going to wrap up. The flaws in plotting might have been acceptable if the characters had been interesting or even likable, but they're not. Like pawns in a chess game, they move from space to space, and we're never particularly concerned whether they will be eliminated or not. On an emotional level, The Thirteenth Floor is cold and sterile. Even the romance, which is supposed to feature a white-hot passion between two lonely and dissatisfied people, is antiseptic.
Visually, The Thirteenth Floor is striking, although it's not nearly as impressive as The Matrix. 1937 Los Angeles is presented as a monument to nostalgia, based as it is on the memories of a man (Fuller) instead of the historical reality. Director Josef Rusnak has muted the color schemes of both eras (an approach that foreshadows the film's big "surprise"). 1937 is tinted by muddy browns that offer an almost black-and-white flavor. 1999 is slanted towards grays and blues. Rarely is there even a splash of a brighter color. Sadly, this aspect of the movie is one of the few that works.
As a hero, Craig Bierko, who resembles a low-rent George Clooney, is a dud. Bierko's Hall comes across as an automaton, rarely changing his stoic expression or the tone of his voice. Gretchen Mol, who was effective in 1998's Rounders, has little going for her here besides her looks. Vincent D'Onofrio, sporting blond hair and looking nothing like he did in The Newton Boys or The Whole Wide World, gets an opportunity to go over-the-top playing Whitney, one of the geeks who created the simulator. And Dennis Haysbert is allowed to chew on a few choice hard-bitten lines. The only one to give a reasonably capable performance is Armin Mueller-Stahl, and he has the least screen time of any of the major players.
Based on Columbia Picture's release strategy for this movie, which has it opening the week after The Phantom Menace and while The Matrix is still going strong, one has to assume that there isn't a lot of optimism about The Thirteenth Floor. The intent seems to be to give the film a short theatrical run, then rush it onto video. Frankly, it's not worth seeing in either medium, especially if you have experienced any of the half-dozen better virtual reality features currently available. The Thirteenth Floor shows what can happen when film makers fail to recognize that they need more than a concept to establish a full-length motion picture.
© 1999 James Berardinelli