Movies about virtual reality and the internet envision worlds within worlds – levels, Jerry, levels. So it is with movies about VR: The Matrix is at the top level, being a critical and commercial success that still stands the test of time. Then you have the next level, films like Dark City, which weren’t box office successes but have die-hard fans and defenders. Then there is the C-grade level, where the film wasn’t commercial or critically successful, and just sits there as a production without strong supporters. The Thirteenth Floor (1999) is not a hidden gem; it’s fine, and with my current plunge into cyberspace movies, it’s perfectly watchable. The film’s ideas – about the meaning of reality and identity with the computer used as a metaphor for existential questions – were better achieved in other films from this period. It looks good, a Hollywood production on a moderate budget that puts most of its money into 1930s period detail, the ‘invented’ world that computer programmers Craig Bierko and Armin Mueller-Stahl log into and interact with. The actual technology is rendered in a pretty basic way: the scientists simply lie down on a platform and concert-ready green lasers cut through the darkened space for something interesting to look at. The Thirteenth Floor also invokes neo-noir plot machinations as a murder is investigated with Bierko unsure if the evidence pointing towards him is real or not, and the answers buried within the simulation machine. Backed by a studio with no big stars, the cinematography, location choices and set design all look good (even reusing the same interior for Deckard’s apartment in Blade Runner). Most of its narrative is a slow burn investigative process before delving into a third act with twists and revelations that are dropped at a clip. I like Bierko but I associate him more with smarmy characters, and so he’s an odd fit for a haunted, everyman protagonist. Gretchen Mol is fine as the love interest/femme fatale, and her introductory moment invokes old Hollywood glamour. The most interesting acting going on is Vincent D’Onofrio taking the Malkovich route with an over the top performance that might not be subtle or realistic, but is at least interesting and entertaining (playing dual roles of a dweeb programmer and a sociopathic bartender). The real highlight for me was the “end of the world” moment, a visual spoiled on the posters of a person confronted with a neon-green vista of electronic light where reality used to be. Too bad there weren’t more moments like that. Then again, you could always ascend several levels and just rewatch The Matrix.
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