A fascinating adventure into the unknown!
There is a simplicity and rigour to this story, from the novel by the great Richard Matheson, that makes it a classic of "What if?" science fiction, in this case, what if you found out your body was shrinking, that you were getting progressively smaller?
The script is very tight, swiftly introducing the young businessman at the centre of the tale, Scott Carey (Grant Williams) and his wife, Louise (April Kent), sunning themselves on the deck of a borrowed motorboat, apparently without a care in the world. No sooner does Louise go below decks than a strange metallic cloud envelopes Scott, at the time to no apparent ill effect. Later, however, Scott begins to physically shrink in size, maintaining all his relative proportions, but getting smaller.
The scripting for this is very nicely done, as the principals struggle with the symptoms of the phenomenon. At first, everyone tries to find natural explanations: Scott blames his clothes, Louise focusses on his reduced appetite, and their doctor suggests that previous records were wrong or that it's just an extreme case of the height reduction we all experience over the course of our day, as gravity compresses our vertebrae. When the change becomes so significant that acceptance becomes unavoidable, the medical experts are brought in and a battery of tests done, trying to find an explanation, and a cure.
Along the way, most of the key questions that come to mind in such a scenario are touched upon, if not always resolved. As a man got progressively smaller, would he be able do his job, and even if he could, would he be allowed to keep it? Without a job, how could he pay his bills? As he got smaller and smaller, what would he do for clothes? Would he be able to maintain independence in a world full of devices designed for full-sized people? Speaking of large people, what kind of relations would he be able to maintain with his normally-sized wife? Would he perhaps fit in better with the kind of people who never grew tall?
For a film made over half a century ago, the special effects are really pretty good. As Scott gets smaller, his size becomes determined relative to his surroundings. It's amazing how something as simple as using oversized furniture and household objects can provide sufficient visual cues. Likewise, his hold on existence becomes more precarious, and the dangers inherent in his surroundings become more apparent. Increasingly, his world becomes a battlefield, with disasters that to people of normal size are nothing more than minor nuisances, but to him are dangerous puzzles to solve, and life-or-death challenges to overcome, including duels to the death with ferocious household pests. My wife, who suffers from arachnophobia, had to leave the room during the final reel.
The two special effect giveaways are the rather obvious back projection during the duels with animals, and, despite good tonal matching, the tell-tale lack of a shadow for Scott.
The theme, like that of "I Am Legend", Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the last man on Earth battling alone against a world of zombies, is essentially one of alienation and loneliness, with Scott being removed progressively from normal human interaction, involving loss of relations with professional colleagues, loss of relations with all normal-sized people, loss of status as a civilised human being resulting through a series of accidents in him being thrown back into a primeval life-or-death survival mode, like a miniature caveman beset by privations, natural disasters and monstrous predators. Even with a group of social outsiders like circus midgets, he can find no lasting refuge. The story can be seen as a parable of alienation. The novel, according to Wikipedia, investigates his relations with other people with a much harsher, less forgiving view of society.
The performances are fine. In the title role, Williams is well up to the physical exertions of the part. He could be said to lack the charisma of a more major actor, but in a way his very anonymity helps to increase the credibility of the performance. The supporting actors are good. But all in all, the story and the script are the most important elements, and they are top notch.
- Director: Jack Arnold
- Writers: Richard Matheson, Richard Alan Simmons, based on the novel by Richard Matheson
- Starring: Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, Billy Curtis
- Rating: Full price
- When seen: 30 July 2011
- Where seen: Home
- More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia
Written in WriteRoom, Formatted using TextWrangler, posted from my MacBook Pro
