Alternate Best Actor & Supporting Actor 1998: Rufus Sewell & Kiefer Sutherland in Dark City

Rufus Sewell did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying John Murdoch in Dark City.

Dark City offers an ideal companion piece to The Truman Show as an even more literal manufactured existence, and later the Matrix, which apparently cribbed some of the parts of its sets, and while both those films are superior due to greater directors at the helm, there are some fundamental elements of this film that are my favorite of any of these films.

One of these elements is Rufus Sewell in the lead role of John Murdoch, cast because he was then a basic unknown, and for all of us now, basically still feels like an unknown here because it's such a different performance than he would become known for, the evil British guy. He's neither British nor evil here, in fact one could argue his character is about to be programmed to be the typical Rufus Sewell role before waking up when he wasn't supposed to. Anyway, Sewell gives my favorite lead performance of the three men in the crafted reality films, because he is the most truly just average guy out of any of the performances. Compared to say Keanu Reeves who will always be Keanu Reeves to a certain extent, or even Jim Carrey, who severely downplays his Carreyisms but still brings aspects of his known presence to that role. Sewell rather attempts to portray how a completely normal man would find himself suddenly in a room where he has no memory of how he got there, or even who he is, only picking up clues along the way. Sewell is terrific in the role in the way he indeed just brings us into his mental space and every moment in the opening sequence Sewell doesn't waste. He brings the sudden fear fittingly when he finds a dead woman in his room, just as he finds the immediate anxiety of being completely lost in both place and mind. The most important element in Sewell's performance however is creating the sense of discovery of his John as he goes about trying to figure out who he is, from first picking up his surname from a hotel clerk, then later finding out his first from his wallet in an automat.

We follow John as he first escapes seemingly being set up to be a murderer, to finding himself back at "home" to his "wife" Emma (Jennifer Connelly). Where Sewell doesn't portray John as suddenly home, nor will he be suddenly home at any point within his performance, as he consistently creates the scenario within his performance. Creating reality of the reality breaking situation convincingly. Sewell's work is never of the simplicity of any element because in any circumstance John isn't just dealing with what is going on, he's also dealing with all the ideas around it. When he meets Emma there is an attempt for calm, for understanding for some kind of connection for a brief moment, but it isn't of two long living lovers without exception. Sewell shows him trying to understand the situation through her finding the comfort in her attempt to comfort in a way more so just as a person who cares more than necessarily fully his wife. Unfortunately any way of figuring things out are quickly dashed as he finds himself first on the run from the apparent law, Inspector Bumstead (William Hurt), and eventually from the alien men known as Strangers, who control this world, particularly one Mr. Hand (Richard O'Brien), and seek to capture John. Although John finds himself able to fight back against them with seemingly the same powers they have, Sewell again grounds every moment of this, even the worst bit of CGI of the film (that being the floating power bubbles), through his performance. He shows the discovery in the moment, just as he shows the fear of the strangers, but also the conviction of a man just trying to find the fundamental answers about his existence.

Sewell's performance progresses effectively in each sequence to show John slowly gaining his bearings in some respects while also getting more and more frustrated with others. Sewell naturally exudes this greater presence as the man finding his powers and becoming stronger within this world. While at the same time bringing such honesty in seeing the world get recreated by the strangers in front of his eyes, and showing a very necessary down to earth reaction to what is going on around him. Something that he makes fundamental in how any human would react when their very reality is being reshaped, but also very personal as he finds evidence of his fake memories. Sewell every time creates this very potent frustration of a man seeing his existence as a lie on this greater fundamental level which troubles him more completely. Although with moments of respite, and I think Sewell deserves so much credit in selling the romantic angle element, even though John himself realizes and admits that his relationship with Emma was crafted, but also the alleged affair of their relationship was also a lie. Sewell's moments though of John suggesting their current connection though as truth, is beautifully handled by him because he makes it such simple warmth not of this great love, but of a man finding something just through genuine human care. All of this leading to the finale, in which the actual confrontation between John and the strangers is sadly the weakest part of the film. In part because it focuses on the weakest CGI aspect of the film, also because John doesn't fight Mr. Hand, built up to be the main antagonist, instead oddly fights a different one. Anyway, as somewhat silly as the fight is, Sewell still stands firm in his selling of it, but more so he makes the most of the aftermath, as John recreates the world to be a better place for the humans. There's a wonderful calm and solace that Sewell brings in John, as John finds a kind of peace in making the world, and the fake dreams of his false memories into a reality. With a great moment being his final talk with Mr. Hand, that admonishes not with hate, but rather Sewell convincingly speaks the words with love. It's a terrific performance by Sewell which grounds the entire film, and it's a bit of shame that he was basically sentenced to be the John Murdoch, villain, the strangers wanted him to be for much of his career afterwards.

Kiefer Sutherland did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Dr. Daniel P. Schreber in Dark City.

To say that Kiefer Sutherland gives a strange performance here may be an understatement, though to be fair in a twisted sci-fi film noir, one can't exactly say there isn't at least some ground to work within in this rather overt approach. Sutherland is probably one of the most random actors, as he can give a good performance as readily as a bizarrely terrible one, and just really moves back and forth between such work in his career without really a consistency one way or the other. Sutherland very much just does his thing, so in a way there is no protection of his performance here that may be the bridge between some of his worst work and his best work, as he certainly is making many choices, theoretically baffling, but not quite baffling. Sutherland's character of Dr. Schreber is supposed to be strange, as this man working for the strangers who goes about helping them with their research on their stolen humans, and helps to implant memories and change their crafted reality for them. Sutherland moves around with a limp, his eyes never exactly open in what we'd describe as the "normal" way, every word he speaks is with a bit of a labored breath before or after it. He speaks with a strange fascination of every exposition related to doing the strangers work, albeit mixed in with this kind of admiring fear at the same time.

 

If there's character type he seems to be replicating here, it is the many actors who played Renfield in Dracula adaptations, in this man kind of broken by his servitude to this dark menace. Sutherland certainly colors the exposition of his character as something else, and as much as so much he just needs to unload, he always grants character within it by showing the doctor's specific fascination with his own work, the stranger's work, but also the potential of John. It is a weird performance, but it is a weird character that is supposed to stand out as separate and not entirely fit. But, I'll actually say Sutherland's choices go beyond just being weird, even if he is most certainly that, and it does inform the reality of the character even beyond being a Renfield. As we discover the Dr. was chosen by the strangers for his expertise, and he explains he had to rid himself of everything except that expertise. In flashback, albeit briefly, we see Sutherland seem to be a more complete man except in this desperate state, against the now sort of broken servant he has become, and there is a strange logic to Sutherland's performance after all. This is reinforced through the ending of the film, where the doctor rather than going through the strangers plan to implant John with their consciousness, instead basically gives John an instant supercharge towards mastering his powers against the strangers. A sequence that again shows there is sense to Sutherland's performance, as we see the doctor in John's mind, as that much more complete man, a mentor even, and without all the strange physical manner of the doctor's brokenness, as he informs and encourages John to be ready to take on the strangers. Re-watching the film for the first time in nearly 25 years, this time I got what Sutherland was doing. It is a bizarre turn, though a bizarre turn that does grant a style bridging a gap between Peter Lorre in a film noir and perhaps Rudolf Klein-Rogge in a German expressionist film, in the middle of where Dark City sits in some ways, and where Sutherland finds an odd place, yet a place that I found captivating, if on the most precarious of edges most of the time.