Deep Impact

What would you do if you found out that in a few months, or weeks or days, a comet was going to hit the earth and probably kill off humanity?

Deep Impact is an unusually effective film, confronting and examining what must be one of the most basic of our fears, our mortality, and on a species wide scale.

Deep Impact is likely to be hugely successful for those not hooked impossibly on colour and motion, violence and mayhem. It was directed by Mimi Leder, who has previously directed The Peacemaker as well as numerous television episodes of ER as well as China beach. Mimi Leder was the first woman cinematographer to study at the prestigious American Film Institute and is obviously a master craftsman.

I mention this firstly because Deep Impact is so impressive, but also because Deep Impact isn't a special effects or action film. Deep Impact gives what perhaps we can call a woman's perspective of a catastrophe film and is an involving human drama centred around a cataclysmic event.

But even though Deep Impact is spectacular, it's also thought provoking and is likely to leave you pondering on the fragility of our lives; an unlikely achievement for a mainstream movie!

Tea Leoni, who's major credits so far have been on the box, plays Jenny Lerner. Her subtle performance is likely to at least earn her an Academy award nomination for best actress!

She plays a journalist who stumbles onto what seems to be a government cover up of some scandal. But it turns out that the scandal is huge and involves the probable destruction of Earth. She gets a scoop from the American President no less, who is played by the always warmly impressive Morgan Freeman.

Then Deep Impact becomes an involving human interest drama centred around self sacrifice because only some of the Earth's citizens may survive, buried in caves that have been secretly prepared.

A lottery is devised to chose the lucky one million to go underground, the military enforce martial law and husbands, everyone, must decide if they or their children, or their cousins, or their mothers can take their places. If they have a choice!

Those who have lovers might have been chosen but then they in turn must decide whether they will leave their best friends and partners behind. A side plot is provided by a space ship which is sent to the asteroid to attempt to blow it up. The astronauts have left their partners and children behind. Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Duvall and Maximilian Schell are also in the talented cast.

If I have a quibble with Deep Impact it lies with the space scenes, the action on the asteroid, but not because they aren't done well. It's just disappointing that we're taken from, divorced from, the more human events happening back on the threatened planet.

The excellent young actor Elijah Wood (Huck Finn, The Ice Storm, The War) stars as Leo. Leelee Sobieski who was fine in the recent Tim Allen vehicle Jungle 2 Jungle plays his girlfriend. If you were unfortunate enough to see Jungle 2 Jungle you might remember her.

Deep Impact is mainstream but an effective, thought provoking mainstream movie. I'm not sure how a young, action oriented audience will react to Deep Impact but this latest film from Dreamworks will be a huge hit with the rest of the planet, pun intended.