Flatliners (1998)

DVD

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"‘Today is a good day to die.’"

THE GOOD:

Flatliners is an interesting concept; determine what happens at the time of death. I believe the film is more complex than people give it credit for. Yes there are a few problems with the technical aspects of the film, but those are easily overlooked and really not important in the overall scheme of things.

THE BAD:

At times this movie felt rushed and did not leave enough room to develop all the characters sufficiently. We have a couple characters who were developed properly but a couple, for example Randy Steckle (Oliver Platt) and Joe Hurley (William Baldwin), who are kind of left in the background. If we had been able to see each person equally and Steckle would have 'flatlined', I feel the movie would have felt more even.

THE FILM:

Flatliners is filmed as you would expect dark and foreboding. Considering it was made in 1990 one cannot help but be impressed by the photography, it is good enough to compete with current movies. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing and I do not know if I was quite that impressed, but considering it was made almost twenty years ago it does stand out as far as cinematography. I do not know why but it seems with many movies made during this time period the crew and/or equipment is visible in several scenes, especially in reflective surfaces.

Casting was excellent for this film and included Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin and Oliver Platt. All of whom (with the exception of maybe William Baldwin) went on to have exceptional careers. I would not say anyone's performance is fantastic or award winning, but each holds their own. Chemistry among the actors is not the best and their friendships came off as mildly unrealistic.

The film begins with Nelson (Sutherland) scouting out a place in which he thinks his 'experiment' can be done. This experiment is to lower the body temperature, stop the heart via a shock to the heart and explore what happens after death. Nelson has assembled a team of five medical students/friends, each with their own specialty so hopefully they will be able to record the event and bring him back after the allotted time. Since it was his idea, Nelson goes first and succeeds in 'flatlining' for 90 seconds. He is not able to understand exactly what he experienced but feels victorious since they were able to bring him back. Given his success the others begin to do the same thing but for longer periods of time. Nelson does not tell them that he has started to experience things since his death experience. It seems he has brought his 'sins' back with him. This brings me to another problem I have with the film. I think the things that happen or their 'sins' could have been better and more dramatic. If you really think about it, they are kind of on the boring side, especially Labraccio's (Bacon). Not all of them experience bad things, or at least it ends up not being bad. Dr. Mannus (Roberts) starts seeing her dead father and thinks he is back for revenge, but that is not the reason. I will not give away any more of the plot for it will ruin the film if you have not seen it, but I will say overall it is a good film that keeps your attention from beginning to end.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Standard DVD

English 2-channel

Additional languages: Spanish, French

Subtitles: Spanish, Korean

Scene selections

Widescreen or full screen formats

I do not consider any of these 'special features' and find it disappointing they could not put just one commentary or any type of 'the making of' section. I am usually not interested in any extras, but this is one film I probably would have watched them. It is just a shame there are not any.

REPLAY VALUE:

Above average replay value for Flatliners, it is one that you can watch a couple of times a year and still enjoy.

BOTTOM LINE:

Years ago this movie was in my top ten favorite films. Now with all the new films that have come out this has slowly been pushed down my list to well below the top 20. Not that it is a bad film; I just do not enjoy it as I once did. I do recommend the film, but you have to remember it was made in 1990 and just cannot compete with films as of late. It would make a fitting addition to anyone's collection and you should be able to find it relatively cheap. Still wish there were special features though, it would be fun to hear the actors, director, etc. talk about what they think of the film now.

Thanks for reading.