A flight into the unknown

Review: 'Mothman' offers dark, creepy thrills

By Paul Clinton
CNN Reviewer

(CNN) -- "The Mothman Prophecies," starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney, could be dismissed as a big-screen version of a combination of two TV shows: "The X-Files" and "Early Edition." But while it employs the former's tone and the latter's plot twists, "Mothman" is actually a rather ambitious film that works more often then it doesn't.

Based on events reported in the Ohio River town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, in 1967, "The Mothman Prophecies," directed by Mark Pellington (1999's "Arlington Road") and written by Richard Hatem, is loosely based on a 1975 book by John Keel. The story, however, is told in the present day.

The climax of the film involves an event that took the lives of 46 people. But it's the prior 13 months upon which the film is based. According to Keel's book, those months were full of strange and unusual occurrences for the citizens of Point Pleasant. Some people heard something, some saw something, and others only felt something.

What is that something? Here's the rub. It's unexplainable -- as you're told repeatedly in the film. Apparently the interpretation of whatever happened depended on the person's mental and emotional make-up. However, for many, the experience manifested itself in the form of a huge moth-like creature which appeared out of nowhere.

Real strange, real fast

The protagonist is John Klein (Gere), a reporter for the Washington Post. While driving back to Washington from their new house in Virginia, Klein and his wife Mary ("Will & Grace's" Debra Messing) are involved in a traffic accident. Mary had been suddenly distracted by a strange object in the road. John doesn't see anything, and when Mary dies, he is haunted by her last words: "You didn't see anything, did you?"

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Two years later, John is still grieving for his wife when he heads to Richmond, Virginia, to do an interview with the state's governor. Inexplicably he finds himself 400 miles out of his way in Point Pleasant, (ITAL)West Virginia. Things get real strange, real fast.

He befriends a local man, Gordon Smallwood (Will Patton), and the local sheriff, Connie Parker (Linney). Drawn into the events taking place all around him, John decides to stay, especially when he starts receiving information about his deceased wife.

He also starts getting information from some entity called Indrid Cold about events which are going to take place in the very near future. Soon this information, and his search for the source, takes over his life. He's faced with a choice: let go of the past, ignore the messages, or lose his life.

Solidly told tale

To quote Winston Churchill about the old Soviet Union, this movie is "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." None of the sightings or weird events are ever explained, because the movie is dealing with things that are totally inexplicable, though supposedly based on fact.

Apparently there have been sightings of this "Mothman" all over the world for hundreds of years. There were reports of sightings in 1985 in Mexico City just before that year's big earthquake, and in Chernobyl in 1986 before the nuclear meltdown. There are Web sites about Mothman lore, Mothman comic books, trading cards -- even a rock album about the apparition. It's not an alien, it's not a monster, it's not a creature from the Black Lagoon -- it just is.

Little wonder that many writers have tried to adapt this book to film, and have failed time after time. Pellington and Hatem succeed, but just barely. This film takes place in very difficult dramatic territory. It would have been very easy to fall into phony melodrama -- or complete wackiness. However, the talents of Gere and Linney push the unbelievable plot along and make it digestible.

As usual, Gere doesn't so much act as react, and Linney gives her character a reality that many actresses couldn't pull off. Both play completely logical people faced with a totally illogical reality.

The direction is solid, and the cinematography is stunning. The mood, look and tone of the film fit the incredible storyline to a T. The color pallet is reduced to shades of black, white and gray, with a lot of red thrown in for dramatic effect.

If you like your movies wrapped up tightly in a bow, with a solid conclusion, look elsewhere. Supernatural? Metaphysical? Spiritual? Take your pick. But one thing you can count on -- "The Mothman Prophecies" is definitely creepy.

"Mothman Prophecies" glides into theaters on Friday, January 25, and is rated PG-13.