Children have always been good at making their games seem so real they sometimes forget there's a boundary between the game and the rest of life. Adults have traditionally settled for playtime that's more obviously distinct. In recent years, though, kids' and adults' games have become more realistic. Computers have accelerated this trend, with 'virtual reality' becoming closer and closer to the real thing. Rather than searching for obviously unreal games, people increasingly seem to want real situations in which they can play fantasy roles.
Enter eXistenZ, the latest game from Antenna Research, one that connects with that 'bioport' you have installed in your spine. Allegra Gellar (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is the games goddess who created eXistenZ, which is so real, you might have trouble telling it from reality.
When something goes terribly wrong during the first public testing of the game, Allegra and public relations trainee Ted Pikul (Jude Law) go on the run. Out in the countryside they expect things to be safer, and Allegra takes the opportunity to check and see if all is well with her game. Naturally, she needs a friendly playmate to come along, so Ted, a virtual reality virgin, is called into service.
From there, we're tossed into a psychological maze, where it's difficult to tell who's who and where eXistenZ begins and ends. It's a mystery packed with weirdness, intrigue and violence, and it's also an elaborate joke on the audience. Everything in eXistenZ seems real, but nothing actually is. The joke is delivered with a straight face, and viewers who are watching too intently might even miss it.
eXistenZ isn't so much about the dangerous situations Allegra and Ted get into, although there are plenty of those. It's more about the dangers of bringing fantasy too close to reality, not to mention the dangers of high-tech industrial rivalries. Yes, corporate raiding takes on a whole new meaning in eXistenZ.
eXistenZ keeps you guessing throughout, but this eventually becomes tiresome. Too much time is spent dissecting the events and trying to conclude which good guy is now a bad guy, and (of course) vice versa. Ultimately, anyone who's the least bit interested in the movie's characters is going to become equally tired with the cold Allegra and the bland Ted. We'd be a whole lot more interested in the fate of the game if only we cared about the people playing it.
