DEJA VU Film Review - 17/12/06

Directed by the wonderful Tony Scott ("The Hunger") and Producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Showing remarkable restraint in this production) this superb boiling-pot of a story has everything. Denzil Washington's anguish at the start of the film is palpable as he investigates a horrendous tragedy that soon turns into something else. Ably supported by Val Kilmer and protagonist Jim Caviezel ("Frequency" with a similar feel) we get a tale that you really have to think about as you get your head around the time-travel specifics and time (literally) as the seconds run out and decisions have to be made. Starting off in present day and then jumping back in time the clever twists slowly reveal as you try to piece together what will happen and what has happened. A sense of urgency causes you to get on the edge of your seat as you try to define the plot as it races ahead of you. A number of good films have been released recently and this is up there with the top of the crop and another I can't wait for to be out on DVD; so I can watch it again more closely in detail, as you often miss some of the finer points on first viewing.
Bruckheimer's restraint (as I've mentioned before) on this production; clearly enhances the film above a mere action thriller and add's a romance that is actually believable in a way that isn't too trite and still enables the action to rattle along at a fast pace, with all elements in place that at first you don't realise just how clever it all is? Denzil Washington has done some good films and comes off really well in this and thanks go a lot to the Director Tony Scott.