Mr. Nobody
Mr. Nobody is a science fiction drama film written and
directed by Jaco Van Dormael , the narrative of
this film is handled with precision that its moments of ambiguity never come
across as carelessly vague, but rather as areas in which you are likely to
discover new meanings within each subsequent viewing. Using Nemo’s subjective narrative, he tells of his life at three primary
points in his life: at age nine, when his parents get divorced; at age fifteen,
when he fell in love; and at age thirty-four, living his adulthood – all three unraveled
into many other realities. All those chain of events are in a nonlinear narrative and the many-worlds
interpretation to tell the story
of Nemo's life.
At the beginning, Mr. Nobody's fable comes off as a yet disoriented
story associated with that of old age, but it's actually much more than that. A
journalist asked questions what audience might want to ask while listening his
story. How can he be in two places at once? How is it possible that he has
children and a wife one moment and has neither the next? All this unfolds in a highly confusing narrative in
which everything becomes blurred but in the end everything he says is actually
connected in the discovery of true love, thus closing the circle of life.
On/Off
screen space
The
story and on/off screen movement flows effortlessly with indicating these three
ladies are going to fall in a relationship with Nemo in alternative paths. For
example, in the say ‘Hi” to Nemo and wedding party scene, the transitions are smooth
and elegant despite the apparently complicated and unconventional structure of
the narrative and its character’s action. Beyond the on/off screen, the teen
actors really help introduce new elements of the story that keeps their
particular story threads believable and tight.
Jared
Leto gave amazing performance as Nemo Nobody and the surrounding cast fit right
into place. However, the charismatic performance of Sarah Polley should not be
missed. While she actually has very little screen time, her character is strong
and interesting, if a bit unhinged and melancholy. Once she is on screen, her
reaction and performance are surprised us as her pain of suffering from
borderline personality disorder that place Adult Nemo in a sad plight. Her
sickness created a sharp contrast to other girls with Nemo in other paths.
Spatial
And Time
The
fantastic use of space and movement almost defines belief as to where the
camera takes the viewers. The story Nemo tells relating to his life is
perplexing, elaborate, and fantastic. Combining the effective shots and the
nonlinear plot, the chains of events in different paths are welded together
through the movement.
Audience
move in and out the paintings, photos, drawing and even letters to bring us
where we need to be to make sense of the situation. For example, we begin a shot in Nemo’s 15-year-old
bedroom in the reality that he lives with his mother in Canada. The camera guides
from his bedroom, out through the window revealing the picturesque house he
lives in. The camera continues back to the pretty house is now a postcard on a
table in England. That is another version of 15-year-old Nemo’s world
alternatively where he chose to live with his father instead. This is the most
impressive and luxurious shot of all.
On the other
hand, the
inner workings of a giant clock or the speed of railroad tracks crossing and
merging is seamlessly also tied to other path every time it appear. It keeps
the various threads of the story cohesive and lacking in confusion is a
realized miracle.
Another
amazing element of changing the space and time is water. To recall my memory,
Nemo existed under the water after car crush, bathtub in hotel and swimming
pool at school frequently. The camera work is exquisite and blends reality and
fantasy with precision and sharpness. Every time when Nemo discover himself
underlying the water, and get out from the water, there are always something
new and surprises waiting for him, the duration of showing his super close up on
his shocking face are very short, like a flash and uncompleted memory, but it
is enough to report the details of that particular path. However, if you miss
any shots, you will lose tracks.
There are also many flashbacks and
forwards, multiple dimensions, time fractures and parallel existences. Van Dormael does not enlighten us on what to believe. We learn that his soon-to-be-divorced parents asked young Nemo whether
he wanted to go with his mother to live in Canada or stay with his father to
live in England. Either way, the choice will effect all the permutations and
combinations. The flashbacks trigger the following questions to audience, when we make a choice, were we
free to make it or did we make it by chance? Why do we have this impulsion?
Because of an experience, a culture or innate things? The film is asking all
these questions, the several flashbacks let people rethink those questions
after watching the inconsistent parts.
Lighting
A
pair of big piercing blue eyes is the feature of every Nemo owns. When the path
is time about to move, the camera movement with high key lighting always starts
from the eyes and zooms out or moves away. The lighting accomplished a great
aesthetic appreciation.
Here
is a beautiful use of camera movement and lighting I would like to share as
well. It happened when Anna has to move to New York as her father discovered
their relationship and dissatisfied.
The camera was set at top of the character and ascends in a spiral
movement, accompanying the natural light on their face that is a special and
romantic shot.
Special
effect
A long list of software, including Autodesk's Softimage and Maya, Side Effects' Houdini and the creation of a multitude of
in-house tools, programs and techniques was required for the shots delivered.
Modus FX announced
having delivered 121 digital visual effects shots for the film. Those effects
worked on several complex transitions between the different worlds and multiple
lives of Nemo Nobody.
The complex sequences,
which could not be captured on film, involving the digital reproduction of
entire cities in 2092, villages and otherworldly settings.
They
created two surrealistic worlds with special effects, the one is watching the construction which the helicopters lift huge cubes of
water directly out of a lake and carry them across a futuristic city leaving
only perfectly geometrically shaped holes in the water. In another storyline, the adult Nemo awakens in a strange
world dominated by argyle
patterns. Following the floating instructions that he finds around
the city, no matter the wall or the cloths of citizens they are wearing all are
printed in argyle pattern, the scene make me think of Alice’s wonderland
produced by Walt Disney, then he traces it back to a crumbling abandoned house
and watch the video about 118 year old Nemo ‘s confession.
Yet,
spectacular effects and ideal challenge our perception of locales and
situations. The surrealistic
worlds are far different from other paths; especially the entire city look, all
the house and garden are in order and look clear which do not look alike our
world.
Truly
Mr. Nobody is a sci-fi epic that can show the visual prowess. A trip to
the stars within the movie and extraterrestrial planets take our characters to
them look 100% real, that part of scene is flawless. The gorgeous look of
recent films such as Sunshine or Mission to Mars doesn’t hold anything over the
head of Mr. anybody.
Despite
being all over the place in time and space the movie flows thematically,
visually and even narratively like a carefully winding stream. The entire feel
of the movie is joyously mesmerizing and concludes with a great ending.
Sound
Van Dormael
worked
on simple themes and out of synch loops, for example, in the chasing train scene, Nemo’s
mother is shouting Nemo to run faster repeatedly but they choose to use soft
piano as background song instead of syn. The shouting did not
appear on screen.
However, the scene showed again with mother’s voice at the end of the part, it
brings you another feeling and call out all the memories if Nemo get out the
train successfully, what destiny he will be? The sound in the film is a mixture of superficial simplicity
and underlying complexity. Obviously, the director did not want the music to be overtly
emotional, so they chose a minimalist orchestration, more often than not just a
single guitar.
They
also put their creativity on the character’s voice, they used 9 years old Nemo
to speak when 118 years old Nemo is having a confession to the reporter. Mr.
Nobody said, “We are imagined by a 9 year-old child faced to within an
impossible choice.” That’s the reason I think why they do so and the initial
idea why there are so many paths, I also realized there are no clue or evidence
to investigate which one is true in the end. The child voice from a hundred
elderly is really dramatic and funny.
In
short, Mr. Nobody is a complex visual spectacle that is both charming
and thought provoking. Every
bit of technique utilized by the filmmakers is essential and well planned from
the get-go to achieve what the story sets out to accomplish. It doesn't lay all the answers out
in front of you or maybe it does. It's all a bit much to take in the first time
around, but in the end the film leaves you with a feeling of having watched
something very special as films are released that not only make you question
your life, but your entire existence.
