Surveillance (2008 film)
Encyclopedia
Surveillance is an independent thriller set in the Nebraska plains directed by Jennifer Lynch
and starring Julia Ormond
, Bill Pullman
, Michael Ironside
, and French Stewart
. The film premiered out of competition and at a midnight slot at 2008 Cannes Film Festival
. It is Jennifer Lynch's second feature film after a 15 year break following her debut Boxing Helena
.
) and Anderson (Julia Ormond
) to a town in rural Nebraska
. They meet the three survivors of a mysterious bloodbath; the young Stephanie (Ryan Simpkins
), the coke-addicted Bobbi (Pell James
), and the foul-mouthed Police Officer Bennett (Kent Harper
). Hallaway watches the trio's respective interviews with Captain Billings (Michael Ironside
) and Officers Wright (Charlie Newmark) and Degrasso (Gill Gayle), where they tell the story of what brought them there:
Officer Bennett and his partner Officer Conrad (French Stewart
), hidden from view, fire the tires out from speeders along a road, convince the drivers their tires blew out as a result of their speeding, and threaten the drivers afterwards. Stephanie was traveling on vacation with her family, sees a car with blood on it and tells it to her oblivious mother (Cheri Oteri
). Bobbi was getting drugs with her boyfriend Johnny (Mac Miller
), and all learn that a pair of killers are responsible for the murders and disappearance. Stephanie's father Steven (Hugh Dillon
) speeds and their car's wheel is shot out by Officer Bennett. Bobbi and Johnny are about to offer help, but the Officers arrive and harass all of them, making Steven put Conrad's gun in his mouth and making Bobbi swear at Johnny. In the midst of this, Stephanie tells both men about the bloody car she saw earlier. Eventually the officers leave.
Steven gets to work changing their tire, and Bobbi gets out to talk with Stephanie's family, who all feel violated by the officers. Simultaneously Bennett and Conrad see the car Stephanie described further down the road, and race back. A large white van speeds into the back of Jimmy's car, killing him and Steven. A dead man is at the wheel and a live person is sitting in the passenger seat of the van, who Bobbi tries to save. Bennett and Conrad arrive back at the scene. In the chaos Officer Conrad is killed and persons emerge from the van wearing rubber masks and kill the rest of Stephanie's family.
Presently, Hallaway and Anderson are trying to figure things out when bodies are discovered in a motel nearby. Anderson takes Wright and Degrasso to the coroner's office, leaving Hallaway with Bobbi, Billings, Bennet, and Stephanie, who whispers something in his ear after Anderson leaves. Hallaway talks with the three others, while Degrasso stumbles upon nude pictures of Anderson and Hallaway. Leafing through them in Anderson's backseat, Degrasso is shocked to see the Agents with the body of a dead woman. Anderson stops the car and shoots both of them. Hallaway, meanwhile, reveals that he was at the bloodbath earlier, and reveals he and Anderson are in fact the killers. Hallaway shoots Billings, and when Anderson returns Bennett and Bobbi are also murdered.
Driving away, it's revealed that the body of the missing woman and two others are found at the motel, the other two presumably being the real FBI Agents. As Anderson and Hallaway leave they see Stephanie on the side of the road. Hallaway admits that the little girl had been up on them all along, and didn't want to kill her.
. The title comes from surveillance
cameras, and "how people change their stories based on what we see and what it is we assume about each other." The young girl character was inspired from Lynch's own daughter, Sydney. Different film stock
s were processed in different ways to provide the varying states of minds and perspectives the characters in the film hold: the two local cops' POV
is sepia toned to reflect their power, over-saturation
for the drug addicts and "super sharp and super clear" for the young girl.
, based on 69 reviews. "Top Critics" at Rotten Tomatoes
gave the film a 38% ("rotten") rating, based on 8 reviews. Metacritic
gave the film a metascore of 31 based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally unfavorable reviews".
In October 2008, the film took the top prize at the Festival de Cine de Sitges
.
The film made history at the New York City Horror Film Festival
when Jennifer Lynch
became the first female to win the Best Director award and Ryan Simpkins
became the first child to win the Best Actress award at the fest.
Jennifer Lynch
Jennifer Chambers Lynch is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for writing the book The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and for being Hollywood's youngest female writer and director with her 1993 feature film Boxing Helena. -Early life:Lynch was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,...
and starring Julia Ormond
Julia Ormond
Julia Karin Ormond is an English actress who has appeared in film and television and on stage.-Early life and education:...
, Bill Pullman
Bill Pullman
William James "Bill" Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor. Pullman made his film debut in the supporting role of Earl Mott in the 1986 film Ruthless People. He has since gone on to star in other films, including Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Casper and Scary Movie 4...
, Michael Ironside
Michael Ironside
Michael Ironside is a Canadian-born actor. He has also worked as a voice actor, producer, film director, and screenwriter in movie and television series in various Canadian and American productions. He is best known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, though he has also portrayed...
, and French Stewart
French Stewart
Milton French Stewart , better known by his stage name French Stewart, is an American actor, best known for his role as Harry Solomon on the 1990s sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun.-Early life:...
. The film premiered out of competition and at a midnight slot at 2008 Cannes Film Festival
2008 Cannes Film Festival
The 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 14 to May 25, 2008. In addition to films selected for competition this year, major Hollywood productions such as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Kung Fu Panda had their world premieres at the festival.The British press...
. It is Jennifer Lynch's second feature film after a 15 year break following her debut Boxing Helena
Boxing Helena
Boxing Helena is a 1993 romantic drama film and the debut feature film by Jennifer Chambers Lynch, daughter of David Lynch. The film stars Julian Sands and Sherilyn Fenn as the eponymous Helena.-Plot:...
.
Plot
A series of violent deaths and the disappearance of a young woman bring FBI Agents Hallaway (Bill PullmanBill Pullman
William James "Bill" Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor. Pullman made his film debut in the supporting role of Earl Mott in the 1986 film Ruthless People. He has since gone on to star in other films, including Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Casper and Scary Movie 4...
) and Anderson (Julia Ormond
Julia Ormond
Julia Karin Ormond is an English actress who has appeared in film and television and on stage.-Early life and education:...
) to a town in rural Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. They meet the three survivors of a mysterious bloodbath; the young Stephanie (Ryan Simpkins
Ryan Simpkins
Ryan Elise Simpkins is an American actress. In the film Pride and Glory , she and her brother, actor Ty Simpkins, play the children of Colin Farrell. In Revolutionary Road she again starred alongside her real-life brother Ty.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
), the coke-addicted Bobbi (Pell James
Pell James
-Life and career:James grew up in Virginia with three sisters. In the early 2000s, she worked on the hit television series Law & Order and Law & Order:SVU. In 2005, she briefly appeared in the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers and earned her first starring role for the film The King...
), and the foul-mouthed Police Officer Bennett (Kent Harper
Kent Harper
Kent Harper is an actor, producer and writer who currently presides over his production company, Film Star Pictures, which he established in 1997.-Career:...
). Hallaway watches the trio's respective interviews with Captain Billings (Michael Ironside
Michael Ironside
Michael Ironside is a Canadian-born actor. He has also worked as a voice actor, producer, film director, and screenwriter in movie and television series in various Canadian and American productions. He is best known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, though he has also portrayed...
) and Officers Wright (Charlie Newmark) and Degrasso (Gill Gayle), where they tell the story of what brought them there:
Officer Bennett and his partner Officer Conrad (French Stewart
French Stewart
Milton French Stewart , better known by his stage name French Stewart, is an American actor, best known for his role as Harry Solomon on the 1990s sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun.-Early life:...
), hidden from view, fire the tires out from speeders along a road, convince the drivers their tires blew out as a result of their speeding, and threaten the drivers afterwards. Stephanie was traveling on vacation with her family, sees a car with blood on it and tells it to her oblivious mother (Cheri Oteri
Cheri Oteri
Cheri Oteri is an American comic actress, best known for her roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2000.-Personal life:...
). Bobbi was getting drugs with her boyfriend Johnny (Mac Miller
Mac Miller
Malcolm McCormick , known by his stage name Mac Miller , is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
), and all learn that a pair of killers are responsible for the murders and disappearance. Stephanie's father Steven (Hugh Dillon
Hugh Dillon
Hugh Dillon is a Canadian musician and actor.-Music career:Dillon was the lead singer for the Kingston hard rock band The Headstones from 1987 until 2003...
) speeds and their car's wheel is shot out by Officer Bennett. Bobbi and Johnny are about to offer help, but the Officers arrive and harass all of them, making Steven put Conrad's gun in his mouth and making Bobbi swear at Johnny. In the midst of this, Stephanie tells both men about the bloody car she saw earlier. Eventually the officers leave.
Steven gets to work changing their tire, and Bobbi gets out to talk with Stephanie's family, who all feel violated by the officers. Simultaneously Bennett and Conrad see the car Stephanie described further down the road, and race back. A large white van speeds into the back of Jimmy's car, killing him and Steven. A dead man is at the wheel and a live person is sitting in the passenger seat of the van, who Bobbi tries to save. Bennett and Conrad arrive back at the scene. In the chaos Officer Conrad is killed and persons emerge from the van wearing rubber masks and kill the rest of Stephanie's family.
Presently, Hallaway and Anderson are trying to figure things out when bodies are discovered in a motel nearby. Anderson takes Wright and Degrasso to the coroner's office, leaving Hallaway with Bobbi, Billings, Bennet, and Stephanie, who whispers something in his ear after Anderson leaves. Hallaway talks with the three others, while Degrasso stumbles upon nude pictures of Anderson and Hallaway. Leafing through them in Anderson's backseat, Degrasso is shocked to see the Agents with the body of a dead woman. Anderson stops the car and shoots both of them. Hallaway, meanwhile, reveals that he was at the bloodbath earlier, and reveals he and Anderson are in fact the killers. Hallaway shoots Billings, and when Anderson returns Bennett and Bobbi are also murdered.
Driving away, it's revealed that the body of the missing woman and two others are found at the motel, the other two presumably being the real FBI Agents. As Anderson and Hallaway leave they see Stephanie on the side of the road. Hallaway admits that the little girl had been up on them all along, and didn't want to kill her.
Cast
- Julia OrmondJulia OrmondJulia Karin Ormond is an English actress who has appeared in film and television and on stage.-Early life and education:...
as Elizabeth Anderson - Bill PullmanBill PullmanWilliam James "Bill" Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor. Pullman made his film debut in the supporting role of Earl Mott in the 1986 film Ruthless People. He has since gone on to star in other films, including Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Casper and Scary Movie 4...
as Sam Hallaway - Pell JamesPell James-Life and career:James grew up in Virginia with three sisters. In the early 2000s, she worked on the hit television series Law & Order and Law & Order:SVU. In 2005, she briefly appeared in the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers and earned her first starring role for the film The King...
as Bobbi Prescott - Ryan SimpkinsRyan SimpkinsRyan Elise Simpkins is an American actress. In the film Pride and Glory , she and her brother, actor Ty Simpkins, play the children of Colin Farrell. In Revolutionary Road she again starred alongside her real-life brother Ty.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
as Stephanie - Michael IronsideMichael IronsideMichael Ironside is a Canadian-born actor. He has also worked as a voice actor, producer, film director, and screenwriter in movie and television series in various Canadian and American productions. He is best known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, though he has also portrayed...
as Captain Billings - French StewartFrench StewartMilton French Stewart , better known by his stage name French Stewart, is an American actor, best known for his role as Harry Solomon on the 1990s sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun.-Early life:...
as Officer Jim Conrad - Kent HarperKent HarperKent Harper is an actor, producer and writer who currently presides over his production company, Film Star Pictures, which he established in 1997.-Career:...
as Officer Jack Bennett - Mac MillerMac MillerMalcolm McCormick , known by his stage name Mac Miller , is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
as Johnny - Hugh DillonHugh DillonHugh Dillon is a Canadian musician and actor.-Music career:Dillon was the lead singer for the Kingston hard rock band The Headstones from 1987 until 2003...
as Dad - Cheri OteriCheri OteriCheri Oteri is an American comic actress, best known for her roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2000.-Personal life:...
as Mom
Background and production
Jennifer Lynch said that the original screenplay had been written by Kent Harper who had started off from an idea about witchesWitchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. The title comes from surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
cameras, and "how people change their stories based on what we see and what it is we assume about each other." The young girl character was inspired from Lynch's own daughter, Sydney. Different film stock
Film stock
Film stock is photographic film on which filmmaking of motion pictures are shot and reproduced. The equivalent in television production is video tape.-1889–1899:...
s were processed in different ways to provide the varying states of minds and perspectives the characters in the film hold: the two local cops' POV
Point of view shot
A point of view shot is a short film scene that shows what a character is looking at . It is usually established by being positioned between a shot of a character looking at something, and a shot showing the character's reaction...
is sepia toned to reflect their power, over-saturation
Saturation (color theory)
In colorimetry and color theory, colorfulness, chroma, and saturation are related but distinct concepts referring to the perceived intensity of a specific color. Colorfulness is the degree of difference between a color and gray. Chroma is the colorfulness relative to the brightness of another color...
for the drug addicts and "super sharp and super clear" for the young girl.
Reception
Reviews of the film were mixed overall, with a 55% ("rotten") rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, based on 69 reviews. "Top Critics" at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gave the film a 38% ("rotten") rating, based on 8 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave the film a metascore of 31 based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally unfavorable reviews".
In October 2008, the film took the top prize at the Festival de Cine de Sitges
Festival de Cine de Sitges
The Sitges Film Festival is a Spanish film festival that is one of the most recognizable ones held in Europe, considered the world's foremost international festival specializing in fantasy and horror movies...
.
The film made history at the New York City Horror Film Festival
New York City Horror Film Festival
The New York City Horror Film Festival was established by Michael J. Hein in 2001. It takes place each year in New York City for a week in October or November and specializes in the horror film genre....
when Jennifer Lynch
Jennifer Lynch
Jennifer Chambers Lynch is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for writing the book The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and for being Hollywood's youngest female writer and director with her 1993 feature film Boxing Helena. -Early life:Lynch was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,...
became the first female to win the Best Director award and Ryan Simpkins
Ryan Simpkins
Ryan Elise Simpkins is an American actress. In the film Pride and Glory , she and her brother, actor Ty Simpkins, play the children of Colin Farrell. In Revolutionary Road she again starred alongside her real-life brother Ty.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
became the first child to win the Best Actress award at the fest.