Directed By: Shi-Zheng Chen
Written By: Billy Shebar
Release Date: April 17, 2009
Grade: B
Dark Matter is based on the 1991 University of Iowa shooting, when a graduate student shot 5 people, paralyzed 1, and then killed himself. It is a loose and dramatized portrayal of the events, but the differences seem to be grounded in the reality of what many were going through. There are a few changes in character and the director’s insight on the events is presented as he went through many of the same things as a Chinese-American. Dark Matter is largely about cultural desires and realizations, the plight for scientific discoveries and to live the American dream, and how not attaining these things can be painfully destructive.
Liu Xing (Ye) comes to America to study Cosmology at Valley State University alongside his hero, Professor Jacob Reiser (Quinn). Liu gets the highest score anyone has ever gotten on the qualifying exam and before long Professor Reiser raves about the genius that he sees in him to his colleagues. Liu becomes his most promising student. Reiser isn’t the only one who takes a liking to him either. One of the university patrons, Joanna Silver (Streep), becomes very fond of him shortly, taking it upon herself to make him and all of their new Chinese students to feel welcomed. She has a number of get togethers to make them feel like they are at home. Joanna makes an effort to learn their language as well and it is fascinated with Liu’s mind, as he is making science interesting to her when it never has been before.
Liu is particularly fascinated with dark matter; which hypothetically makes up 90% of the universe, but is invisible and can only be detected through gravitational forces on visible matter. This theory has been puzzling scientists for years, but Liu decides he wants to use the super strength theory to prove this and presents this as his dissertation. Reiser rejects this saying that there is no way he can prove it. Even after Liu believes he has had a breakthrough on the subject, Reiser denies him after it seems he might have taken advantage of his student’s work somewhat. Others tell him to choose something that will make the professor happy just so he can graduate, but Liu can’t get himself to do this. Even if he did graduate and could get a job, it would be restrictive, not allowing his mind to have creative discoveries that could really make an impact. He sits aside while he sees others who compromise themselves graduate and get honored by Reiser and the university while he gets left behind. Reiser doesn’t have much affection for him anymore, denying his ideas and keeping him down, claiming that Liu is in way over his head. The rejection builds up as he tries to attain everything that seems so far away now. His sanity might not be as stable as his carefree attitude would suggest.
We are given top notch performances here. Liu Ye stands out the most as Liu Xing. He just gives off this very bright and lighthearted presence. He draws us in and gets us to care so deeply for his character. This was a change in character from the actual shooting as the shooter was somewhat of a loner and very isolated while in the film he is connected to many people around him. Our protagonist is made much more likeable here. Not only does this get us to care more, but it makes the transition all the more drastic, making the end result seem far more tragic. Once Liu makes that transition in the last scene, he wears misery, pain, and anger on his face, but what he does is still very shocking. It seems like if there would have been a little more time where we got to see him in pain, feeling rejected, and how that anger built up on him it would have seemed a little more realistic. In real life, he showed signs of this by disconnecting himself from everyone around him. It would have been nice to have more of a build up through the character. Still, I see how he might have let it build up internally not letting it show on the outside even when alone and that is what led for it to all unleash when his jealousies and aggression got the best of him. This is more of a change in character that isn’t as easy to swallow.
Meryl Streep does very well also and it was nice to see her in a somewhat lighter role here. She brings out a kindness and very human concern for those around her, very conscious of the cultural changes and competitive world they have all been thrown in to, putting herself in their shoes. Aidan Quinn makes us connect with Liu further through his character of Professor Reiser. At first, we see him in a similar light that Liu does, a wise professor who is acknowledging his talents. Before long we look down on him more and more. Quinn displays that almost pompous superiority that becomes very restrictive to Liu and frustrates us in turn. Quinn’s character is more fictional than the rest as the professors in the incident were much more welcoming and supportive, but Quinn helps create this conflict that allows us to feel for Liu more.
Dark Matter examines cultural differences not just through being in a new place, where nearly everything is foreign to you, but through the characters that reshape some of their ways of thinking based on those of different cultures. There is talk about how much TV American children watch and how many Chinese students such as Liu only know studying. This resembles the pressures and academic oriented world that Chinese culture embodies. It heightens the stress and eventual breaking point that Liu reaches in a level of stress that outdoes the average American possibly simple because of the differences in society. Liu might be able to put on a happy face, but the one thing that linked him here is science, which he feels should not be restricted. Science is the one thing that makes him feel like he belongs here and when his ideas and dreams are taken away from him, he just ends up feeling more alienated than ever. His hero fails him and brings him to a low, that alone is enough to harm anyone’s outlook on life. Jealousy is also sparked in him as he sees the person he would have been if he let others control and change him.
Earlier on, when he still trusts his professor Liu talks about how students in China don’t challenge their professors at all since they respect them too much. He expresses a concern about how this holds back growth and different mindsets. Liu is in America so he can advance his mind so playing things safe and conforming his thoughts to the “Reiser model” would be like taking a step back. This isn’t shown quite as clearly as it could have been in the film, but another cultural aspect that could come in to play is that in Chinese culture failures such as not being able to get a job they have to do something about it, which in this case he chose death as the answer. Liu is trapped between two cultures and more importantly his vision of America and what he wants it to be and what the troubling reality of America that he is facing collide, creating psychological this damage within him.
Director, Shi-Zheng Chen uses some interesting forms of storytelling such as dividing the film in to five acts, each symbolizing one of the Earth’s elements. There are also a number of dazzling graphics such as explosions like supernovas that hit on the protagonists passion for science, his dreams, and his deterioration. We see a connection with the fascination of infinite space and how he becomes more miniscule in the universe. Chen does show how he has a personal bond and understanding of the shooting. The film was actually supposed to be released last year, but after the Virginia Tech shootings, it was postponed. Dark Matter is a very compelling film that raises a lot of questions and regardless of some lacking development in the main character’s shift towards violence and a number of important issues are presented but not gone in to things as deeply as the material deserves, it is still an interesting film worth seeing.
Excellent review.
Really good job because this is a powerhouse of emotion from what I have read about it.