"12 Monkeys"

Rated: R

Starring: Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeline Stowe, Christopher Plummer, David Morse

Screenplay: Terry Gilliam

Directed: David Webb Peoples and Janet Peoples

To very briefly summarize the main plotline, Bruce Willis's character lives in the fairly near future. Most of mankind has been wiped out by a deadly virus and those remaining have moved underground. Willis plays a convict who "volunteers" to go back in time and trace the origin of the virus so they can find a cure for it back in his own time. On his first trip back a mistake is made and he ends up in 1990 instead of the intended 1996. This results in his encountering Stowe's and Pitts characters when he is committed to an asylum. Stowe plays his psychiatrist who initially believes him mad then becomes his accomplice. Pitt plays his co-asylum inmate, the man believed to be responsible for the virus being unleashed when he becomes the head of an animal liberation organization known as the Army of the Twelve Monkeys.

This film will most definitely appeal to Gilliam's devoted fans as it contains all the elements that they have come to know and love. The weird design of technology and gadgets, the atmosphere he evokes, and the thin line between sanity and insanity. Willis becomes increasingly more doubtful about what is real and what is fantasy as he switches between the two time periods and becomes convinced by Stowe's claims about his insanity. In contrast, Stowe starts off believing him insane and living in a fantasy world which he has constructed in his head then ends up having to convince him of his sanity.

The acting throughout the film and by all the cast is superb. Brad Pitt is notably excellent with his portrayal of the twitching cross-eyed mental patient. The cinematography is excellent and the overall feel of the film is reminiscent of Brazil. The problem is that Terry Gilliam's view of the world doesn't work well with everyone. If you are already a fan then this is a must see film as you will thoroughly enjoy every last minute. If you're not but the storyline sounds like it might interest you go with an open mind and be ready to accept a slightly different slant on things. If you're a Brad Pitt fan ... well you won't care about the anything except the man himself and he is there further proving what a fine actor he is so I'm sure you'll find it worth while.

Mary Jo Stockton (1/31/96)