'You probably think I’m beautiful Dr. Roberts. But I’m not."
Dr. Larry Roberts (Albert Finney) who has several patients that were models and wanted a list of very minor alterations done. The models start suffering a series of suspicious deaths that at first blush appear to be suicides or accidents. Dr. Roberts discovers that the models all worked for the same company, "Digital Matrix". Digital Matrix is run by John Reston (James Coburn). The doctor’s investigation into the company puts him in danger and police Lieutenant Masters (Dorian Harewood) is looking at him as the possible culprit of the deaths. Someone is killing the girls one at a time. The girls that are perfect.
“Looker” was released in 1981 and is in good company. It stars Albert Finney, Susan Dey, James Coburn and Leigh Taylor-Young. A highly talented and seasoned cast. It was written and directed by Michael Crichton. The same Michael Crichton that wrote “Jurassic Park”, “The Andromeda Strain”, “Sphere”, “West World”, “Twister” and “Coma” to name a few.
There is murder, intrigue, election manipulation, brain washing, and futuristic weapons development. Everything is there and as it unfolds Dr. Roberts gets in deeper and deeper. The premise is interesting and some of the visual effects are fascinating.
Are there problems with the film? Yes, absolutely. There are plot holes and character motivation issues and sometimes the dialogue is difficult to follow. The (pardon the pun) look of the movie is dated. There are also flaws in some of the editing.
But the possibility of the science is there. The movie is in some ways ahead of its time. The intrigue is there. And there are some aspects that could be eerily similar to some of today’s issues. Perhaps not in the realm of television but the digital age has given us more than one way to manipulate the mind. To manipulate people. If you can suspend your critical thinking mind for a couple hours you could treat yourself to a Science Fiction thriller that is different than the normal fare. At least until is becomes science fact.
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