SECONDS is a science fiction drama about the alienation and the midlife crisis. It is a kind of psychological conflict between life dissatisfaction, and a sort of rebirth with the limits. It is based on the novel of the same name by David Ely.
Arthur Hamilton is a middle-aged businessman whose life has lost purpose. He lives with his wife in the New York suburbs. He's achieved success, but finds it unfulfilled. Arthur has completely neglected his family. Through a friend, Charlie, he thought was dead, Arthur is approached by a secret organization, known simply as the "Company" which offers him a new life. The Company is a high-tech service which, for a price, provides older men with plastic surgery, a beefed-up body, and a fresh start in life. Arthur submits to the operation that will turn him into a "Second". He becomes Tony Wilson, an attractive man and successful painter...but...
A gloomy and bizarre atmosphere is the biggest asset of this film. A disturbing transition from a business to a hedonistic expression is quite well designed. Mr. Frankenheimer has used a kind of expressionist symbols to avoid a generalized existential questions. I think that, the obsession with eternal youth is not the main theme of this film. I think that each of us, from time to time, wants a new opportunity or a new beginning that is associated with with our youth. Of course, a new life and identity change is a radical move, but it fits in the theme. A paranoid character gets shocking proportions in this film.
Rock Hudson as Antiochus "Tony" Wilson has offered an intense performance, especially after his revelations and conclusions. Jeff Corey as Mr. Ruby is a vivid agent which offers new life. Will Geer as Old Man is an embodiment of a false kindness. Salome Jens as Nora Marcus is a young woman who has chosen hedonism as a kind of salvation.
The modernity of broken parts.
Arthur Hamilton is a middle-aged businessman whose life has lost purpose. He lives with his wife in the New York suburbs. He's achieved success, but finds it unfulfilled. Arthur has completely neglected his family. Through a friend, Charlie, he thought was dead, Arthur is approached by a secret organization, known simply as the "Company" which offers him a new life. The Company is a high-tech service which, for a price, provides older men with plastic surgery, a beefed-up body, and a fresh start in life. Arthur submits to the operation that will turn him into a "Second". He becomes Tony Wilson, an attractive man and successful painter...but...
A gloomy and bizarre atmosphere is the biggest asset of this film. A disturbing transition from a business to a hedonistic expression is quite well designed. Mr. Frankenheimer has used a kind of expressionist symbols to avoid a generalized existential questions. I think that, the obsession with eternal youth is not the main theme of this film. I think that each of us, from time to time, wants a new opportunity or a new beginning that is associated with with our youth. Of course, a new life and identity change is a radical move, but it fits in the theme. A paranoid character gets shocking proportions in this film.
Rock Hudson as Antiochus "Tony" Wilson has offered an intense performance, especially after his revelations and conclusions. Jeff Corey as Mr. Ruby is a vivid agent which offers new life. Will Geer as Old Man is an embodiment of a false kindness. Salome Jens as Nora Marcus is a young woman who has chosen hedonism as a kind of salvation.
The modernity of broken parts.