Summary
Jeff Goldblum is riveting as Seth Brundle, perhaps the most beautifully drawn and masterfully portrayed protagonist in all the annals of mad science (cinematic mad science, at least.) Honestly, there are moments when I want to cry for him. Which maybe isn't saying all that much - I also tear up at the end of Galaxy Quest, when all the nerds guide the ship in for a landing. I love that scene.
This movie also stands out as the sole case that I can think of off the top of my head in which not only is it actually plausible that the solitary genius, working alone, could have developed such an earth-shattering invention, but the subsequent sequence of events which lead to his ultimate destruction is a conceivable course of action for a competent scientist to follow. Although, to be fair, modern mad science movies in general are getting much better at that than were their predecessors from the 1950's. Compare to the original The Fly in which Andre tests his new teleportation devices using his son's beloved pet cat.
But back to the plot. Brundle invents teleportation pods and accidentally splices his DNA with that of a fly, creating Brundle-Fly. (I love that.) As if you didn't know the plot already.
Warning! Spoilers ahead!
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Barbara's Rant
My favorite thing about this movie is obviously the character of Seth Brundle. Dozens of movies have explored the character of the lonely, youthful genius with the soul of a poet, but none have succeeded as well as this one. And it does it while snapping people wrists and dissolving their ankles with digestive juices! "I'll hurt you if you stay." is right up near (but not quite with) "I came across time for you, Sarah." in my book of the most moving declarations of love ever to grace the silver screen. And believe you me, that's a huge compliment coming from me since I practically orgasm whenever I hear Michael Biehn say that line. And some people think Sleepless in Seattle is a romantic movie. I feel sorry for them. Watching Seth's slowly growing madness (but what a focused madness - "I seem to be struck by a disease with a purpose, wouldn't you say?") is such a treat. Details like putting his discarded body parts in his medicine cabinet (while talking to them, no less) and chewing on his glove even though his fingers are secreting liquid tell us so much about him. I could talk about this for hours. But I won't. Watch the movie yourself; you'll see what I mean.
My second favorite thing about this movie is Seth's computer. Most movie computers are either ludicrous (in that what shows up on the monitor does not even approach what a real monitor would display) or boring (in that they add little or nothing to the advancement of the plot). While the computer in "The Fly" does suffer a bit from the ludicrous, it rises above it because I detect in this computer a personality. This deliberately malicious personality I take to be the physical representation of that concept that lies at the heart of so many movies from "Frankenstein" to "Tarantula" to "Village of the Giants" - Scientist, beware thy own creation. In other words, I don't consider that Seth's computer is conscious in and of itself, but that the karmic forces of the universe which decree that all men who dabble in the domains of gods shall be put back in their rightful place are consciously working through Seth's computer. He brings it on himself, of course, by failing to show the proper respect for the forces he unleashes. "Computers are stupid," he says. Of course he isn't going to get away with that. Why else would a program which was never designed to deal with two separate subjects not only scan and store the two organisms separately, but make the decision to integrate the two genetic patterns (which it executes essentially flawlessly, despite the tragic results), surely the most difficult way to deal with two separate patterns and the way furthest outside its programming? It can't be by accident that I detect a mocking tone to the writing on the screen as the computer denies Brundle-Fly voice access. If I can still recognize the voice as Jeff Goldblum's, surely the computer should be able to as well. I conclude, therefore, that the universe is taunting him. Finally, it cannot be denied that a conscious, malignant will must be behind the decision to fuse Brundle-Fly with the teleportation pod. Surely nothing in the programming could have expected the eventuality that the teleportation pod itself would ever be involved in the teleportation sequence. It is inconceivable that this kind of self-reference would in any way be permitted. Yet the screen very clearly declares that the fusion of Brundle-Fly and telepod has been successful. In the final devastating stroke, it is not enough that the teleportation system has caused the destruction of Seth Brundle, it must fuse with him and thus make his destruction its own, returning him to the bosom of his brainchild in the same way as Brundle-Fly hoped to become the perfect family by fusing himself with Ronnie and their unborn child.
Or maybe these are just plot points that were never thought through clearly enough, but they sure work for me.
BARBARA JO
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