Despite sort of sharing a title with the found footage monster movie Cloverfield (2008), the newly released 10 Cloverfield Lane does not continue the story. Director Dan Trachtenberg’s feature debut has been described as a “blood relative” and “spiritual successor” and carries on with a new story. It appears more of a spin-off than a sequel, and perhaps this J.J. Abrams-produced franchise will become something of an anthology.
That is not a bad thing. I remember little of the original and don’t mind a different direction. What 10 Cloverfield Lane has in common with its predecessor is a focus on a small group of civilians during a cataclysmic event. The difference is that it is much more character-focused. The majority of the action takes place in a well-furnished underground bunker, centering on two men and one woman brought there against her will, with a dynamic and setting that reminds me of last year’s Ex Machina.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is Michelle, a young woman who finds herself in the bunker after a car accident. She figures out rather early on that her “accident” might have been caused by the man who brought her to the shelter, and gradually, with each successive attempt, comes up with a solid escape plan.
Winstead delivers a multifaceted performance, showing vulnerability and fear but also intelligence and resourceful from the start. She begins the film running away from a fiancé after a fight. The man who brought her to the bunker actively lies and gaslights her about the events that led her to the bunker. She reveals that she had an abusive father growing up, and she tends to avoid confrontation. Michelle finds herself in increasingly worse situations; her strength and instinct allow her to make it through and strike back at her latest abuser. Not that I’d want an Alien reboot, but if there had to be one, I’d want her as Ripley. I just love Mary Elizabeth Winstead so much, you guys.
John Goodman is Howard, a survivalist and conspiracy theorist. He claims to have found Michelle and brought her back to the bunker, thus saving her life, but he does not make it easy to trust him. Goodman easily switches between friendly and intimidating patriarch. Though his first appearance is threatening, he is at other times charismatic, jovial, weird but still approachable. On the other hand, He is unstable, has outbursts, and demonstrates a creepy attachment to younger women due to his separation from his wife who took his daughter with her.
John Gallagher Jr. is Emmett. Having worked on the bunker during construction, he knows of its existence and voluntarily enters the shelter to take refuge from the events befalling the outside world. Howard does not welcome his arrival. Gallagher’s character is easygoing and sympathetic. He’s not as developed as the other two, but he is a decent guy with insecurities who tries to lighten the mood, sometimes/often to Howard’s displeasure.
Although there is plenty of uneasiness and tension, there is some comedic relief as the characters become accustomed to living together. The occasional rumbling reminds them and the audience that the outside world is falling apart, but overall life in the shelter is “normal.” In this respect there is similarity to Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, with the survivors settled into the mall as the world falls apart outside, and it’s a reprieve from the stressful first act. The period of normalcy lasts even as Michelle and Emmett uncover another layer to Howard’s deception and secretly plot an escape, until the “family” eventually falls apart violently.
During downtime, we get gags that involve VHS tapes of ‘80s movies (real and fake), moments of self-awareness such as the characters poking fun at the impossibility of a zombie apocalypse, and a game of Taboo that shows Howard’s social awkwardness and creepy attitude toward women. The same game also leads to a frightening moment when it appears that he is suspicious of Michelle and Emmett’s activities, until the pressure is released via a punch line in a moment of relief for everyone. The film at times feels disjointed in its transitions between scenes and moods, but it holds together rather well overall. Once the story explodes into violence in the third act, the film never lets up in its intensity and even takes a turn for the weird. Some people found the twist contentious, but I was more afraid of a sudden, “ambiguous” ending. The shift was handled well and helped complete Michelle’s trajectory.
The effectiveness of 10 Cloverfield Lane lies in the dynamic between the three leads and the setting. The film starts out with a sense of dread. Tension never fully goes away and threatens to erupt into violence. The film is creative in its minimalistic, claustrophobic, isolated setting, which appears lived-in and well thought out. The intercutting of mundane conversation, humor, and tension reminds me a lot of recent films by Adam Wingard and Quentin Tarantino. A recurring sentiment I’ve seen in reviews is “Hitchcock meets Twilight Zone,” which is accurate and complimentary. I read that and was sold, and the film did not disappoint. It’s a smart, intense thriller about escaping and fighting back against abuse, propelled by strong performances.
3.8/5
Some discussions on themes and ending
I waited at least a week to post this because I figure it had been long enough. The spoiler-averse might want to skip the next few paragraphs.
The ending is a bit contentious among reviewers and audiences. There appears to have been an alien invasion, and a second climax sees Michelle’s confrontation with an UFO on patrol drawn to the activity at the bunker. There is criticism that the third act twist came out of left field, and that the original ending where Michelle simply drives away and finds a major city in ruins is better. I know a lot of this is subjective, but I don’t see how that would have been a better ending.
The invasion didn’t come out of nowhere. Michelle hears in the beginning a radio broadcast reporting widespread blackouts. Emmett mentions that he witnessed the beginning of the attack with supernatural, inhuman qualities. Howard theorized that the attacks came from “Russians” or “Martians,” and while he was paranoid and disturbed, it’s not implausible he picked up something to give him cause to believe that, given his line of work that involved satellites.
I kind of hate a lot of “ambiguous ending” approach in indie films. Michelle finding the ruins of a scorched Earth was one ending I predicted. I was afraid that one preview had shown one of the last scenes of the movie (involving a ball of light appearing behind a house), and that there would be a sudden cut to black. (Look, I’m still not over that awful ending the X-Files revival/season 10 had.) Ambiguity can provoke discussion, or it’s lazy and leaves the viewer unsatisfied. I don’t demand all endings to be crowd-pleasing, but I don’t know what a downer or cliffhanger ending would have accomplished. Having Michelle find a giant crater or a city in ruins or whatever the original plan was wouldn’t have felt new or interesting. It’s kind of a cop out, or even needless nihilism masking as depth.
The ending also works with Michelle’s character arc. Due to her bad childhood, she avoids confrontation and runs away in bad situations. As mentioned, she has had a bad history with men, from an abusive father, to a fiancé from whom she is running away, to Howard who is an unstable liar that intends on keeping her in the bunker as a surrogate daughter. Emmett is the first decent man she has encountered in the story, and he ends up dead trying to protect her, pushing her toward confrontation with Howard.
By the film’s conclusion, through her skills and resourcefulness, and some strategic retreating along the way, she has successfully struck back at Howard and brought down a patrol ship. When she is faced with the choice of going to Baton Rouge where there is shelter, or joining the resistance in Houston, she decides on the latter. The narrative isn’t just about escaping a bunker; it’s about rediscovering strength after suffering at the hands of abusers. What happens next is left open-ended, and not every question is answered, but as it stands, Michelle’s arc is complete, and there is enough sense of closure.
Midwestcoastal: Kai's Pop Culture and Personal Blog 