Film Review: Seconds

At some point, everybody takes a good look at their lives and wants to change something about it.  Maybe you're unhappy with your job.  Maybe you wish you could have a hotter girlfriend.  Maybe you're worried that life is passing you by, and you want to be young again and live it up some more.  Maybe it's time to reinvent yourself.  In this film, a guy reinvents himself to rectify all of these things.  The big twist is, he does so with the help of an ominous and mysterious corporation.

This film has a pretty interesting premise.  Combined with its style, it comes off as a fairly gripping thriller; there is a sense of anxiety that permeates key scenes and keeps you wondering what will happen next.  The film drags in just a few spots (mostly in the middle), but it is interesting and sobering to watch this guy go through an artificial rebirth and live a second life.

The story is pretty well-structured.  The momentum sputters a bit in the middle, as the character wanders around in his new body and figures things out.  However, the set-up and conclusion are solid, and the characters overall are fairly well-developed.  Above all, this is a film that boldly holds a mirror up to the 1960s culture and shows a rather eerie reflection.  I could see it as the man's transformation mirroring the transformation of culture, moving from the conservative 50s to the radical free-loving 60s counter-culture movements, but the film makes it out to be a total nightmare.  As such, the film challenges the notion that people have to be young and successful to be happy.  It also puts a pretty ominous spin on corporations, using people like putty to shape them into whatever they determine, all for the sole purpose of making money.

The film is phenomenal, for it boasts some incredible photography.  There are a ton of wild and unusual camera angles, many of which seem less like what you'd find in the 60s and more like what you'd see in modern films (especially when the camera tracks a person's head or body, keeping it still while the background moves; that is very much the same kind of thing you get with webcams, which many modern movies use, and I think it's an awesome achievement for Seconds).  Camera moves are especially fluid and interesting.  Editing is really great, especially with some of the more surreal scenes.  Acting and writing are impeccable.  This production has some great-looking sets, props, and costumes.  The music score is pretty effective too.

Despite a few slow parts, Seconds is a bold film with a bold style and a ton of bold messages.  I'd gladly recommend it to anybody.

4.5/5 (Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Very Good | Film:  Perfect)