Hey guys! Horrorella here...
Nacho Vigalondo has established himself as a unique voice genre cinema. From TIMECRIMES to EXTRATERRESTRIAL to any number of his short films, he tells stories that are distinctly his, and that refuse to fall in line with typical and expected tropes.
OPEN WINDOWS definitely exemplifies those traits, delivering a fast-paced thriller that barely has the time to breathe and keeps the audience on its toes every step of the way.
Elijah Wood stars as Nick Chambers, a blogger who runs a fan devoted to his favorite actress, Jill Goddard (Sasha Grey). Pics, videos, rumors, you name it – jillgoddardcaught.com has it all. As the story opens, Nick has recently arrived in Austin, the winner of a fan contest. The prize is dinner with the actress herself.
Unfortunately, it was not to be - he soon receives a call from a gentleman named Chord (Neil Maskell), telling him that Jill has canceled the dinner. Chord expresses his apologies, and as something of a pervy consolation prize, begins sending Nick various links opening new windows on his desktop, granting him increasingly unrestricted access into Jill’s life. Security cameras, her laptop, her phone, you name it. Nick is closer than he ever imagined he could be to the object of his obsession. Naturally, this level of uninvited intimacy doesn’t come without strings – Nick soon realizes that he is playing a role in something much bigger and much more dangerous than he anticipated.
Vigalondo isn't content to simply film this as your standard hacker thriller. Instead of a traditional set-up, the entire film is seen in real-time through a series of windows on Nick's computer screen. Each link that Chord provides gives us a new angle into the action. Video chats, surveillance feeds, phone cameras, GPS maps – a number of different technologies are employed to tell one fast-paced story through the screen of a single laptop.
It is a very ambitious effort, and while it doesn’t work 100% of the time, it does get huge points for taking the risk. It’s a unique and effective way to tell the story, and one that really taps into the premise and brings the audience into it.
The viewer is present (via Nick) for very little of what is happening - we see the events through the various feeds on the screen, just like Nick does. But both the fast pace of the story and the kinetic way the camera draws our attention from one window to another really impacts the sense of action. Something is always happening, and even though our eye isn't physically present for it, we are still very much involved and on the edge of our seats.
Unfortunately, this set-up necessitates a great deal of in-scene exposition. The characters constantly have to clue the audience in as to what they are seeing onscreen and how and why it is being recorded. It is an important detail to include, but the delivery isn’t always seamless, and it gets rather tedious as the film goes on.
Part of what makes OPEN WINDOWS so fascinating is the fact that it is incredibly timely, particularly when you look at the state of online communication and interactions today. The recent celebrity nude photo leak is just one of many topical events that make so many of the story elements ring true.
But even setting that aside, the film is a keen examination of voyeurism in the technology age. How we have more access to the private lives of celebrities (or even non-celebrities) than ever before, how much information we make available, how easy it is for the wrong people to get a little too close, and how vulnerable we make ourselves through our constant interconnectivity. This film is about exposure – through consent and non-consent alike.This story very much exists in this moment, which is part of what makes it resonate.
But in addition to that, it's a damn fun movie. Elijah Wood has been pouring his energy into some really cool genre projects lately, and this one is no different. It's an entertaining thriller that in no way ends up where you think it will. The third act takes the story completely off the rails. You might think you have it pegged, but in the last 20 minutes, you are holding on for dear life as it takes turn after turn, delivering nothing that you had been expecting. It's a great next step in Vigalondo's development, and while at times it feels like he can barely keep up with what he has set in motion, he reins it in at the end, sticking the landing and delivering something wholly entertaining.
