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Warning: As you might have guessed from the film’s secretive production (no one knew it existed until a trailer was released), the less you know about Dan Trachtenberg’s “10 Cloverfield Lane,” the better off you’ll be in the end. A forced perspective is used to great effect in this film, which leaves the audience in the dark about what exactly is going on. I will proceed with caution in the review that will follow, but I will not be offended if you choose to close this window at this point. After you’ve seen it, come back here.
John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead deliver outstanding performances in “10 Cloverfield Lane,” which is a taut, tense thriller. Following the end of the world, it has echoes of Alfred Hitchcock and H.G. Wells embedded in a cat-and-mouse game with the characters. Even though it doesn’t acknowledge it in traditional blockbuster fashion, it is a sequel to 2008’s “Cloverfield,” a found-footage film about an alien invasion that was released in theaters. It’s almost like a spin-off from that film, in that it imagines a different story taking place in a different part of the world but within the same universe as the original film. Unlike that film, which took advantage of a current trend in its approach (found footage), Dan Trachtenberg’s film has a much more vintage feel to it, evoking the style of genre films from the 1950s and 1960s. It’s disappointing that Trachtenberg and his team don’t delve as deeply into some of the film’s potential themes as I had hoped they would, and the film is less visually engaging than it could have been. However, this is solid entertainment, a film that is meant to keep you guessing and jumping for 100 minutes before throwing you back into the real world to argue about how it should have ended.
The script by Josh Campbell and Matthew Stuecken (with a co-story credit from “Whiplash” writer Damien Chazelle) was originally in development under the title “The Cellar,” but it was later retrofitted to place it in the world of “Cloverfield.” Consequently, we hear ominous reports of power outages along the coast as Michelle (Winstead) drives away from her life and partner, leaving her house keys and engagement ring on the table. These opening scenes, which feature Michelle packing her belongings and Bear McCreary’s overheated, Hermann-esque score, are clearly intended to evoke memories of another story of a woman who fled the city for the dangerous countryside. Anyone who has seen “Psycho” will immediately recall Marion Crane in the first act of Hitchcock’s classic. It doesn’t take long for Michelle to track down her Norman Bates.
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When Michelle awakens from a terrifying car accident, she finds herself in a barren room, chained to a wall. She soon comes face to face with her kidnapper, an imposing figure named Howard (John Goodman), who claims to be more of a savior than a kidnapper, despite his claims to the contrary. He happened to notice Michelle’s accident just as the sky began to erupt. A “happening” has occurred outside, and he was able to grab Michelle just in time to get her into the bunker he built specifically for such an occasion. It could be the Russians, the North Koreans, or the Martians, but whoever or whatever it is, the air will most likely be unbreathable for one or two years after the event occurs. Michelle should be thankful that they have enough food, filtered air, and other supplies in this doomsday preppers’ bunker to last them until the end of the world.
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They are not alone in their feelings. Just as Howard was about to lock the door behind him, a neighbor named Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) burst through the doorway. Emmett, who has witnessed Howard constructing this bunker specifically for such an occasion, confirms enough of Howard’s claims that Michelle begins to believe him in the process. Emmett, who is excellently played by the “Short Term 12” actor, serves as a pivot point in the film, alternately assuaging Michelle’s fears and assuring her that Howard is, at least in part, who he claims to be. She accepts the possibility that these two men will be the last human beings she ever sees after an aborted escape attempt when she witnesses something horrific after the failed escape attempt. Howard, on the other hand, isn’t quite right. He’s overly controlling, especially when it comes to the dynamic between Michelle and Emmett, to the point of being uncomfortable. A fantastic scene of game-playing takes place in which Howard’s misogyny is laid bare, and the film keeps us guessing as to what his intentions or end game will be until the very end.
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That sense of unease is certainly present in the script, and Trachtenberg deserves praise for his direction, but it is John Goodman’s performance that will have you on the edge of your seat. He apprehends a man who is on the verge of losing his mind and for whom control is essential. The character isn’t played by an obvious psychopath, as some other actors might have done, but by someone who honestly believes he’s the Messiah, and this belief feeds into his control-freak God complex. To keep us guessing, Goodman gives us glimpses of the possibly kind man that Howard used to be before all of this happened, while also underscoring the possibility of those glimpses with a sense of conditionality. Howard reminds Michelle and Emmett that he has saved them in such a significant way that we begin to wonder what he expects from them in return.
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When it comes to overall performance, the underappreciated Winstead is a match for Goodman in every way. This is an actress who, despite her outstanding performances in “Smashed” and “Faults,” only receives a fraction of the recognition she deserves. The number “10 Cloverfield Lane” is carried by her, conveying Michelle’s conflicted feelings about her predicament while remaining so completely in the moment that the tension is maintained. We only know what she knows, so she must serve as our conduit to the film, responding to each new obstacle and conflict in the same way that we would respond to them.
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The final half-hour of “10 Cloverfield Lane” is almost certain to dominate the conversation surrounding the film in its entirety. Without giving anything away, it’s a series of events in which Michelle is confronted with new challenges at every turn (this would only be a spoiler if you’ve never seen a psychological thriller before). However, while I’m not convinced it’s as strong a narrative as it could have been—and one can see the retrofitting of the traditional thriller into the sci-fi universe—Winstead and the filmmakers manage to keep it together through sheer confidence. The final act of the film, like the film’s opening sequences, is largely devoid of dialogue. There’s none of that nonsense with the character talking to herself that you see in lesser films that aren’t as confident in their visual storytelling abilities. You’ve seen so many movies where the characters hold your hand as you ride the rollercoaster up and down the hills. If you watch “10 Cloverfield Lane,” the filmmakers want you to scream and throw your hands in the air at the conclusion.
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