The sci-fi masterpiece “12 Monkeys” is a shining reminder of how strong Bruce Willis, who retired from acting due to a serious illness, could act and what unusual material he chose in his heyday. If you really want to watch the movie again, watch it again tonight. On Amazon Prime Video, the excellent film is even available on multiple channels, which you can even test for free as a Prime Video customer:
That’s what “12 Monkeys” is about
Decades ago, the Earth’s surface was infected by a virus. Since then, the rest of humanity has lived a miserable existence underground. However, there is hope in the form of James Cole (Bruce Willis), who is imprisoned in an underground city. Scientists responsible for the planet’s recovery have chosen him as a ‘volunteer’ to travel back in time to 1996. That’s when the dangerous virus broke out – supposedly due to the actions of an army called the “Twelve Monkeys ”. He must prevent this!
In another time level, successful Baltimore psychologist Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) is called to the police station due to an emergency. She is supposed to be investigating an aggressive, confused man. He chatters something about a dubious assignment, about the wonderfully pure, harmless air that he can finally breathe and now has to protect…
Bruce without Willis clichés
Even in his prime, Willis often reverted to a few distinctive mannerisms that severely limited his acting range. That’s why, before filming “12 Monkeys,” cult director Terry Gilliam (“Brazil”) gave his star a taboo list of clichés that he had previously identified in Willis’ performances.
This paid off: Willis gives one of the best performances of his career in “12 Monkeys.” – and one of his most unusual. Cole is a main character who fluctuates between his love for peace and musical trifles and his confusion and fear. Although Cole has a calm nature, which Willis expresses with economical gestures and a softer voice, he has repeated outbursts of frantic, loud and anguished voices. This makes Cole unpredictable and tragic.
Pitt and Stowe also shine
In addition to Willis, Brad Pitt also stands out in the supporting role of psychiatric patient Jeffrey Goines. Looking back, this part makes you wonder how Pitt could have had a reputation among many film fans in the 1990s as just a small, talented, good-looking boy. For in the perpetually nervous Jeffrey, who has countless tics and quirks, much of the acting greatness for which we now respect Pitt comes to the fore.
Pitt turns the hastily speaking, goofy monologue-delivering Jeffrey Goin into a highly entertaining, affecting supporting character who verges on overacting, but thanks to Pitt’s acting, this line is never crossed: Jeffrey seems thoroughly authentic.
Between her two unstable colleagues, Madeleine Stowe is ultimately a very good identification figure for the audience: As psychologist Kathryn Railly, she represents a rational refuge of tranquility. Ode manages to express Railly’s perspective in a very nuanced way, so that ’12 Monkeys’ becomes tense even apart from the whole world-saving scenario: the gradual change in what the psychologist considers to be an unchangeable fact, and thanks to Stowe, the futuristic ideas against which she softens, a moving, personal drama.
Gilliam is in complete control
Finally, no article on “12 Monkeys” would be complete without discussing Gilliam’s direction. In preparation, the “Monty Python” veteran decided not to watch the original film (Chris Marker’s “On the Edge of the Runway”), but to give free rein to his own sensibilities. And this profusion of Gilliamesque ideas fits the material perfectly. The sets seem cramped and small, but are also packed with details, creating a paradoxical feeling:
The aesthetic of the film is claustrophobic yet exuberant. This is transferred in “12 Monkeys” to our perception of the future, it is minimalist and yet overflowing with absurdities. Gilliam, who enjoyed artistic freedom here and had a high budget for his standards, creates such an irritating feeling – the ideal basis for feeling just as disoriented and plagued by doubts as the main characters.