Thirteenth Floor, The (1999)
Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

The barriers that separate fantasy from reality are shattered in this stylish, mind-jarring thriller, where two parallel worlds collide in a paroxysm of deception, madness and murder.

On the thirteenth floor of a corporate tower, high-tech visionary Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko, The Long Kiss Goodnight) and his high-strung colleague Whitney (Vincent D’Onofrio, Men In Black) have opened the door to an amazing virtual world – circa 1937 Los Angeles. But when the powerful leader of their secret project (Armin Mueller-Stahl, Shine, The X-Files) is discovered slashed to death, Hall himself becomes the prime suspect. Arriving from Paris is the beautiful and mysterious Jane Fuller (Gretchen Mol, Rounders), claiming to be the murdered victim’s daughter. Her instant, magnetic attraction to Hall only further blurs the lines of what is real. Is he the killer? Is the inscrutable Jane somehow connected? To find the answers, Hall must cross the boundaries into simulated reality he has helped create – and confront the astonishing truth of his own existence.

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman on April 8, 2009 -- They say ignorance is bliss. For the first time in my life I agree.

The Thirteenth Floor is one of those movies that's far better than it deserves to be, at least upon initial viewing. It's a nice and rather obscure Sci-Fi Thriller that does nothing wrong except for the fact it holds next to no replay value. At ten years old, the movie already feels a bit dated, but the steady direction, fine acting, impressive dichotomy of settings and set designs, and fascinating twist ending more than make up for the somewhat goofy and over-the-top technological visuals and sound effects, particularly a green laser-light show and a digitized female computer voice. The Thirteenth Floor is one of several pictures that play with the idea of virtual environments, going far beyond something like The Sims and creating a Holodeck-like world that wipes away the line between reality and simulation. The film plays with the theme of the dangers of becoming engulfed in such technology, but does so in the guise of a slick, noir-ish Mystery, melding the genres to fine effect.

The Thirteenth Floor is a tale of two worlds, one real, one imagined, both seemingly as dangerous and important in the lives of its inhabitants as the other. Hannon Fuller (Armin Mueller-Stahl, The International) has created a seamless digital realm where modern-day humans may "plug in" and experience the pleasures -- and the dangers -- of life in 1930s America. Unfortunately, something seems to have gone awry, and Fuller has set out to make things right -- until he is murdered. Detective Larry McBain (Dennis Haysbert, 24) suspects Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko, Cinderella Man), a longtime friend and confidant of Fuller's, of the crime. Hall meets Jane Fuller (Gretchen Mol, 3:10 to Yuma), Hannon's mysterious daughter who was to help her father shut down the company -- until his will was changed to reflect ownership falling to Hall. Hall chooses to enter the virtual world and discover what it was that may have led to Hannon's death, leading him to a shocking discovery that will forever shape his perception of the worlds around him.

An impressive pair of worlds, separated by bytes rather than decades, offers the more striking aspect of The Thirteenth Floor, the worlds actually overshadowing the story. While the film clearly doesn't offer the stunning beauty and rich visuals of King Kong, the film that perhaps better than any other recreates the bygone era of the 1920s and 1930s, the throwback world of The Thirteenth Floor represents a genuinely realistic environment that is set apart not only by the clothes and cars but also by a faded, somewhat bleak appearance that both stylistically allows for the further distinction between the worlds but also adds to the film a relatively minor plot point. The Thirteenth Floor looks good throughout, the film clearly aiming for -- and generally succeeding in creating -- a Film Noir style that nicely contrasts with the more modern, technologically-oriented world in which much of the film is set. The characters, nearly all the primaries playing dual roles, devour the material nicely, each rather convincing and offering above-average performances, with veteran Dennis Haysbert leading the pack.

The one drawback to a film like The Thirteenth Floor is that it loses its edge after the first viewing. Once the secret is out -- and it is a rather good secret at that -- the film offers little incentive to re-watch it in the near-to-intermediate future. In this regard, The Thirteenth Floor, unlike M. Night Shyamalan's classic The Sixth Sense, holds little in the way of replay value. It's a slow and deliberate journey into two distinct worlds, tied together in a story that is complex but expertly told so as not to overcomplicate the plot or confuse the audience. The stylish direction and good acting of The Thirteenth Floor can't prop up a solid story that loses all its appeal once the cat is out of the bag.

The Thirteenth Floor is a solid Sci-Fi/Mystery/Thriller genre-bender that is one of the better "virtual reality"-centric movies out there. While a small minority of the Science Fiction genre (The Lawnmower Man and Virtuosity a pair of other examples), The Thirteenth Floor proves this is a viable and valuable area ripe for exploration. The film boasts a good throwback noir style, solid acting, and steady direction, but lacks much in the way of replay value. Still, it's a film worth watching, particularly considering this decent Blu-ray package assembled by Sony. The disc features solid picture quality, a surprisingly robust and powerful lossless soundtrack, but only a few supplements. It all ads up to a Blu-ray disc well worth a rent.

User Comment: thesnows Seattle, USA • The film, without an A-list cast, pulls off the plot well. The characters, although not really deep, are well structured, and the plot constructed with subtle complexity. The 1930s scenes are dramatically created. I found myself trying to guess the plot twists, but with little success as they unfolded. It was a good film, and richer in substance than the Matrix, and left you with a thought provoking afterthought about our own existence. Going into a movie, I hope to have avoided any prior information about the plot, and this one was well worth the purchase of the video. This could have made a great 3 hour movie to really develop the characters and the philosophical issues, however, it was reduced down to the 100 minutes time-span. I'd give it 8 out of 10.

Summary: Thought-provoking and intriguing without being pretentious.

--- JOYA ---

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