We are currently in one of those periods where belief in science is ebbing among the general public, while widespread acceptance of some rather fringe aspects of Christianity are in ascendance. Speaking of ascendance, it was once again predicted Jesus would bring his faithful to Heaven in the event called the Rapture. This time, some random nutjob on the internet claimed it would happen on either September 24th or 25th. As I write this on October 18th of the same year, the event either didn’t happen or it turned out there were so few truly faithful left that nobody noticed.
The event is not explored as one of the possible explanations for the disappearance of all but three people around the world in 1985’s The Quiet Earth. That is one of the many ways the film proves to be more oriented towards science, no matter the extent of creative license taken with it.
It opens with the sun rising over the ocean in extreme close-up. This shot lasts until the sun is completely above it. While there is something just a bit unsettling about this imagery, it effectively sets the tone. Much like how the disc is mirrored in the atmosphere in the shot (something known as the Omega Sun), this shot will be mirrored by imagery at the very end of the runtime.
The sun will play a key part in scientist Bruno Lawrence’s investigation into what is wrong with the emptied world in which he suddenly finds himself. He will ask fellow survivor Alison Routledge if the light from it looks different to her than before. She says it doesn’t, but he will discover the charge of an electron has changed, something which is supposed to be a constant throughout the universe. That charge is oscillating, and increasingly so, which means the world in which they have found themselves is about to break down. Even before discovering that, there is something awfully disconcerting about water suddenly going down the drain in the opposite direction, even if the polarity of the planet has remained the same as before.
Lawrence has an idea what has caused this event, though he only knows the half of it. As part of Project Flashlight, he and other scientists at a local research installation are part of some sort of huge energy grid beneath the surface of the Earth which will be used to power everything on the surface. I was very curious about this infrastructure, especially since everything we see here takes place in New Zealand.
As Rutledge puts it at one point: “An exclusive all-male club playing God with the universe.” That sounds about right, and we have a disturbing analogy in the present day with “techbros” currently running all the largest IT companies and threatening to eliminate most white-collar jobs through AI. Funny how we have gone over some sort of peak where progress just means regression. I’m betting if those minds today tried to implement the same project, they would call it Project Fleshlight, and believe they are the soul of wit.
The plot will eventually get around to introducing Pete Smith as the third survivor, a morally ambiguous Māori man who may be a threat to the survival of the others. He is at least a threat to Lawrence’s budding romance with Routledge, as he clearly the alpha male and is it obvious she fancies him.
This seems similar to 1959’s The World, the Flesh and the Devil, complete with the love triangle involving a racial element. Alas, this leads to one of the least believable moments in the runtime, where Lawrence antagonizes Smith so much that it puts his life at risk, and I suspect this was intended to be a form of suicide. The problem is the way this scene is constructed is horribly awkward, and so badly that I am surprised the picture is able to recover from it.
Something which may alienate other viewers is the pacing is the definition of a slow burn. I wasn’t watching the clock, but I believe a third to half of the movie may be only Lawrence going in a spiral descent into madness (and presumably in the opposite direction such a descent would have happened before the event). Even if that isn’t the actual amount of time spent with him, it feels like it, which is all that matters. You know you’re at rock bottom where you’re wearing a slip and declaring before an audience of life-size cardboard cutouts of famous historical figures that you are God. He also proves to be way too comfortable with his body, to the extent a suitable alternate title for the film would be Free Willy.
I think it is interesting that so many antipodean productions of the 80’s have notable explosions in them. One very memorable moment has Lawrence escaping from a lab which has suddenly sealed itself off. He puts a lit torch in a bathroom and opens a large oxygen cylinder in the same space. It detonates spectacularly.
There are all kinds of little moments in this which I found intriguing for various reasons. I never stop finding it odd how often people sing “Auld Lang Syne” in a movies before they realize how sad that song really is. This happens with our three characters in Smith’s home, which I can only assume is a traditional Māori structure. It is quite visually striking, but I can’t imagine trying to sleep in it, with what appear to be angry, red faces all over the walls. I would likely be comfortable in Lawrence’s home, where there is, tellingly, an Escher print on one wall, something which is crossfaded to in an unfortunate segment where Smith is briefly able to walk up walls. I was also intrigued by a semi Smith uses to try to shove a stuck vehicle off the road, as this monstrosity has apparently been dubbed the “Ladi Di”. I wonder if the Princess of Wales would have been flattered, angry or confused by this, but I like to think it would have largely been the first.
The dialogue is good, though skewing a bit towards the unnatural. There is one exchange which demonstrates the line walked by much of it, that being this between Routledge and Smith, as the latter is off to likely harm Lawrence: “I wouldn’t ride with you if you were the last man on earth.” “I’m working on it.”
As far as the technical aspects, this is a solidly, competently made film, though nothing is particularly flash or memorable in those regards. The First Assistant Director is Lee Tamahori, who would go on to be a director of some renown. The soundtrack stands out more than anything, with a striking theme which brought to my mind John Barry’s work for The Black Hole.
The ending of The Quiet Earth is quite a startling gut-punch, ending on a note I welcomed, even if it leads to more questions than it answers. Unfortunately, the final image we see also graces the original poster and the cover of all home releases, in the same way it seems the original Planet of the Apes must always be represented. But seeing that does not deprive the viewer of the enjoyment of how the film gets there. The original poster is also interesting in that, in lieu of the usual critic blurbs, it has an Einstein quote. Though not the headiest sci-fi I have seen, this picture is well-represented by such a quote. It is even more telling it is the only blu-ray I own with a commentary track by Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Dir: Geoff Muprhy
Starring: Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith
Watched on Film Movement blu-ray