This is an example of an idea that was so interesting that the filmmakers faltered because they couldn't handle it anymore. Alex Proyas, the mind behind The Crow, followed it up with this dark tale that, much like his earlier work, has all the visual punch of the bastard child of Terry Gilliam and David Fincher, but lacks the narrative and thematic strength of either of those two.

Rufus Sewell, who is adored in England and unknown here, plays a film noir schlep who wakes up in a bathtub in a room with a dead body. He runs, of course, and it turns out that he is wanted for a string of murders. John Hurt is the detective assigned to solve the case, and Jennifer Connelly is Sewell's long-suffering wife. At least, that's how it seems on the surface.

The problem is, the surface keeps changing. These alien guys, who look like a cross between the Borg from Star Trek and Death, realign the city every night, playing with the memories and lives of the people who live in it. They are a dying race who have created this nightmare world in order to figure out what makes humans tick. Most of the humans don't remember from one night to the other that things have changed, because the Renfield-like mad scientist played by Kiefer Sutherland creates new memories for them. Sewell is one of the few who can remember (and who hasn't lost his mind because of it yet). Sewell tries to get to the bottom of it while eluding the police and the aliens.

It is such a great idea, complete with simply astounding sets and camera work, that it is really too bad that it all just overwhelmed the film. The idea is so expansive and open that it is almost doomed to failure. Imagine that you were the only one who knew something like that—what would you do? I suspect that what the filmmakers came up with won't look nearly as wonderful and imaginative as whatever alternatives you come up with when you watch the movie. It's not wonder that, toward the end, it falls apart. I applaud its daring, though. The DVD contains a commentary by Roger Ebert, which is in many ways more cohesive than the film itself.