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A Reel Life film section

Summer 2006-7


Deja Vu movie review

In the wake of Katrina, a boatload of sailors and their families climb about a New Orleans pleasure ship for an outing. There is an explosion and all the law enforcement agencies seem to have responded, including the ATF's Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington). His insight and local knowledge cause him to be recruited for a super-secret project using large amounts of surveillance footage that takes so long to process that it shows a few days in the past, once.

Quite a few things don't add up. Where is Doug's partner? Who is the woman whose body washed up before the explosion. What aren't the geek-squad scientists telling him?

Movie poster, Deja Vu; Festivale film review

Movie poster, Deja Vu

If you thought it was just a trick of the mind, prepare yourself for the truth.

Deja Vu is a fascinating crime story. It has an interesting premise, if you can look at the past, just once, where would you look and when? Doug chooses to watch the life the female victim, the anomaly, and learns about her and her life as he is watching for the moment when she meets her killer.

This is a science fiction story as much as it is a crime story, and to write too much would ruin the surprises that are in store for the audience. Ultimately Doug must put himself in harm's way to solve the puzzle, catch the criminal and save the day.

The cinematography is beautiful, the effects are tasteful and do not overwhelm the film, it is a joy to watch.

We need more films like this. Not the same story, but the same quality.

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by Ali Kayn
Due for Australian release 18 Jan 2007
For credits and official site details, see below
Search Festivale for more work by the film-makers below.

See also: James Caviezel (Frequency); Denzel Washington (Inside Man, The Taking of Pelham 123, Heart Condition, John Q, Out of Time, Devil in a Blue Dress, The Hurricane, Remember the Titans); Val Kilmer (The Ghost and the Darkness, At First Sight, Red Planet)

Just the facts:

Title: Deja Vu (2006)
Written by: Bill Marsilli, Terry Rossio
Directed by: Tony Scott
running time: 128 mins
rating: M


The Players: Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, Val Kilmer, James Caviezel, Adam Goldberg, Erika Alexander, Bruce Greenwood


Official website:
IMDb entry


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