FLATLINERS is one of those films remembered by a generation for bringing together a bunch of stars, in their early years, all of whom would become famous after time. Kiefer Sutherland, of course, teamed up with Joel Schumacher previously on THE LOST BOYS and nowadays is best known for his work in the television series 24. Julia Roberts made the double-whammy of this and PRETTY WOMAN, both in 1990, and secured her success as an A-list actress. Oliver Platt has carved out a niche in 'smaller' movies over the years, William Baldwin is one of the popular Baldwin brothers and Kevin Bacon, well, he's always been weird, ever since he was in Friday THE 13TH, and his role here is no exception. The cast was a mixed bag for me. I hated Baldwin's womaniser, despised Platt's blatant role as the comic relief, and found myself as ambivalent to Julia Roberts as ever. But Bacon's a secure anchor for the other actors, and Sutherland redefines 'intense' with his turn here.
The idea of a group of medical students giving themselves 'near death' experiences to see whether there's an afterlife is a good one, a nice science-fiction premise. But what impressed me most was that, halfway through, the story changes track totally, becoming a reflection on the human condition as themes of guilt, sin, redemption, and atonement are dealt with in turn. I was surprised how dark this film actually was, with lots of encounters with sinister figures and weird stuff going on; it's actually far scarier than many more 'obvious' horrors from the same period. Scenes of the students struggling to resuscitate their friends are pulse-pounding and there are even one or two moving bits (Roberts' reunion, for instance). Schumacher's stylised direction, stuck entirely in the 1980s, is a detraction, but cinematographer Jan De Bont helms some good scenes and, while I don't consider this a classic, it is an interesting experience and for the most part an effective one.
The idea of a group of medical students giving themselves 'near death' experiences to see whether there's an afterlife is a good one, a nice science-fiction premise. But what impressed me most was that, halfway through, the story changes track totally, becoming a reflection on the human condition as themes of guilt, sin, redemption, and atonement are dealt with in turn. I was surprised how dark this film actually was, with lots of encounters with sinister figures and weird stuff going on; it's actually far scarier than many more 'obvious' horrors from the same period. Scenes of the students struggling to resuscitate their friends are pulse-pounding and there are even one or two moving bits (Roberts' reunion, for instance). Schumacher's stylised direction, stuck entirely in the 1980s, is a detraction, but cinematographer Jan De Bont helms some good scenes and, while I don't consider this a classic, it is an interesting experience and for the most part an effective one.