Location: Los Angeles, CA
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Written by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Produced by: Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Lupi, and Arnold Kopelson
Cinematography by: Robert Elswit
Art Direction by:Gary Freeman, and Peter Dorme
Musical Score by: Tyler Bates
Film Editing by: Dylan Tichenor, and Richard Francis-Bruce
Main Cast
Ryan Phillippe as Captain John Glory
Uma Thurman as Jean List
Hugo Weaving as Arnold Angar
Tom Sizemore as Charles Glute
Patrick Wilson as Dr. Martin Creed
Seann William Scott as Jerry Slack
Peter Sarsgaard as Donald Desiree
Science Fiction / Drama
Tagline: "The darkness within the human mind has no outer limits"
Synopsis: "Captain's Log: November 1, 3970: Today me and my team of six others embark on a secret mission entitled Project Sin. Our mission is to explore the planets that haven't been researched, and secretly abduct their inhabitants. I find it ironic that the military has labeled it as Project Sin. I'm guessing they want to make a point that religion no longer has meaning over the planet, but either way I'm proud to serve my planet. I already miss my wife and son. It's only been a few days, but you feel so lonely in space. I can't wait to hold my wife in my arms again, and I can't wait to spend some more time with my son."
"Captain's Log: December 23, 3970: Today we successfully abducted our first alien subject. Everything went pretty good. Everyone did what they were suppose to do. Although, Martin did more than I asked. He stayed with the body long after research was done, to do some "personal" research as he calls it. Oh well. You can't hate a guy for doing more than asked.......although...the tears from the subject were quite disturbing. I've seen dogs shed tears before, but these tears from the subject reminded me a lot of human tears. I'm guessing this is just a phase and as time goes by, and we abduct more subjects, these disturbing feelings will go away"
"Captain's Log: January 10, 3971: I'm starting to worry about my so-called team. Jerry is becoming lazier by the minute. He's disobeying almost all of my orders, and I can't believe he actually smuggled weed onto the ship. Arnold is really starting to piss me off with his sudden outbursts of rage. Jean has been flirting with all the shipmates, and Donald now seems to be going crazy over her. To make matters worse, Charles has been eating all the got damn food. Luckily we still have a lot left, but I'll have to keep an eye on him. The only person I can respect at the moment is Martin. He has been disobeying my orders of disposing the subject's bodies but at least he is just keeping them to research more. Although his research appears to be effecting his health. I'm starting to worry"
"Captain's Log: February 8, 3971: .........Earlier....We picked up another alien subject. As we were performing research on the subject it let off a loud, depressing, and eerie cry. It was....quite the event. I haven't been able to sleep since. I've been experiencing many nightmares and night terrors. It also seems my team have not been able to hide their emotions lately, especially Arnold. He has been questioning my leadership, and making threats to everyone on the ship. I am proud to lead this mission, and I will be more than proud to knock him on his ass if he continues his threats to me or anyone else on my ship."
"Captain's Log: March 20, 3971: Today we lost Jerry. Among weed, he had smuggled some other drugs I wasn't aware of, and overdosed. I had my complaints about him, but I never wished death upon him. Everything seems to be going wrong lately. I'm finding it hard to keep Charles' fat ass away from the food. I also have been catching Jean and Donald having sex on multiple occasions. What's even worse is that Arnold attacked me today. I was able to subdue him and lock him in the holding cell, but I'm pretty sure it will not hold"
"Captain's Log: April 2, 3971: Everything I had feared would happen, happened. Arnold broke free from his holding cell and killed Charles. I watched on the monitor as he brutally decapitated him, and then slowly peeled off Charles' skin. I lost track of Arnold's location, and now I am scarred as hell. I also found Martin in his research quarters with a disease not known to human kind. The sickness must of come from the decaying corpses of the alien subjects he kept for research. I was afraid something like this would happen, that's why I had asked him to dispose of the bodies. I should of been more strict with him. I feel like it's my fault, however, I think I can save him. I'm rushing to my medical quarters as I speak, but Arnold is still out there and I have to be careful not to run in to him, or it may be the last thing I do."
"Captain's Log: April 3, 3971: This may be my last log. Arnold has officially taken over the ship. He haunts me with his death threats over the intercom. If this ship wasn't so damn big he would of killed me by now. Sadly I couldn't save Martin. He died a very gruesome death as his skin slowly turned inside out. I hope the disease wasn't contagious. I don't know what happened to Jean or Donald, but I'm pretty sure their dead, so getting help from them is not an option. I'm getting tired of feeling scared. I'm going out there, and I plan for only one of us to come back. If this somehow makes it to Earth, I just wanna say I love my family, and even though things didn't turn out as planned, I'm still proud to serve my planet"
What the Press would say:
If there is a more diverse modern director than Paul Thomas Anderson then you'll have to show me. From the porn star bio-pic, "Boogie Nights", to the dramatic ensemble, "Magnolia", to the romantic comedy, "Punch Drunk Love", all of his films have been quite diverse. In my opinion, he has not only proven that he can be diverse, but that he also likes to challenge himself as a filmmaker; which is something a lot of modern filmmakers today shy away from. But now P.T. Anderson goes way out of his way, into science fiction territory, to give us something that is much more than a masterpiece.
"Project Sin" isn't some science fiction thriller or science fiction action adventure. There are no guns or explosions; just the dangers of the human mind, and what happens when the sins within us take over that mind. It is a slow, intellectual, and visually mesmerizing art film. The film can be labeled as a modern day "2001:A Space Odyssey". The film is slow, sometimes to the point of just letting audiences watch the beautiful scenery of space, and the film is also disturbing, giving audiences eerie images of mutilation and graphic scenes of violence.
The performances in "Project Sin" are great, but much more interesting is that they are all shaped to take after one of the deadly sins in The Canterbury Tales. Seann William Scott gives his best performance yet as the sloth of the ship whose "slacker" mentality ultimately results in his death. Tom Sizemore plays the gluttony of the ship, as he can not control his overeating. Peter Sarsgaard becomes crazy with envy over his shipmate Uma Thurman, who plays the lust of the ship. However, Uma Thurman's performance isn't just about looking sexy. She is a temptress and a succubus, sucking the energy out of anyone who is tempted by her, including herself. Patrick Wilson plays the greed of the ship, as his thirst for knowledge is responsible for physically decaying his body. Hugo Weaving plays the wrath of the bunch, as his anger and rage literally takes over his reasonable thinking and actions. Then there is Ryan Phillippe with a performance so deep in layers, his character will be studied for years to come. He plays the pride of the bunch, however there's much more to his character. He is proud of something, but the film doesn't give a clear answer as to what he is proud for. Is it his planet? There are many hints that his statements of pride for his planet are false and sometimes ironic. Is it for his family? There is a scene where his character has a nightmare of his wife sleeping with another man. Could this suggest that his character is actually not proud of his family? I would of never imagine Ryan Phillippe pulling off a complex performance like this, but he nailed it perfectly, and is truly deserving of award recognition.
Among great acting and a great story, the film is masterfully crafted. Saturated colors are used often, and this helps highlight the scenes that deal with much darker colors. It let's off a somewhat Kubrick and Hitchcock feel, however P.T. Anderson does have his own special feel to the film. There is a lot of diagonal camera movements to give audiences an uneasy feel, but there are other scenes that are disturbing enough to not need the special camera style and in those scenes it is presented in a natural way with no cuts. This results in those particular scenes giving audiences a feel that they are there or that this is an actual tape of real events. The film is also layered with themes. From thirst for knowledge, to the humans tendency to always be violent no matter how advanced we are, P.T Anderson gives an epic size of themes to an already multi-layered story.
This isn't a movie for all, so I'm not gonna recommend the weak hearted and people with weak stomachs to go see the film, but this is still a movie you have to watch in theaters. With great visuals, and great performances this is much more than a movie but rather an event that can not be missed in theaters. P.T. Anderson hasn't had much luck at the Oscars, but I feel his luck will soon change...
Best Picture
Best Director- Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Actor- Ryan Phillippe
Best Supporting Actor- Hugo Weaving
Best Supporting Actor- Patrick Wilson
Best Supporting Actress- Uma Thurman
Best Original Screenplay- Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction
Best Original Score
Best Film Editing
Best Sound
Best Visual Effects
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