"Deja-Vu" (fiction film)

This is a thriller at first sight when I picked it up at the video store. (Yes, I actually go into the video store occassionally).

But this movie is much more than a thriller. It is about time travel, about physics, about terrorism, and even a little about love. It was slightly confusing at times, but it kept me interested. I liked how the film had many layers like a mystery. It really made you think about what's possible with technology and with time travel as well. It also strikes a nerve since it's filmed in New Orleans and you are forced to remember Hurricaine Katrina and its devastation. Also, in the current tense times we're in, terrorism is a daily news story and this film touches that nerve as well.

The main character, played by Denzel Washington, is a caring investigator. He brings most of the humanity to this story. Instead of just focusing on the perpertrator or the nitty gritty of the investigation, as most thrillers do, his character focuses on the life of one of the victims, a beautiful young woman.

The film pushes this idea that there are surveillance cameras everywhere and that the FBI can piece the images together to create a constant stream of video from four days earlier. Okay, it feels like a stretch, but I could run with it. But the detailed footage of the female character eating dinner and brushing her teeth in her own house just seemed outrageous to me. I just couldn't get over the unlikelihood of even the FBI having such detailed footage. Also the character wasn't a suspect, just another civilian woman who happened to sell her car to the terrorist. Perhaps I don't know enough about surveillance and what cameras are used in cities like New Orleans, but it really didn't feel authentic that they'd be videotaping all their residents _inside_ their own homes.

Worth seeing? Yes.
Refreshing & different? Yes.
A favorite of mine? No, but definatly refreshing.