Déjà Vu (film)

Infobox Film
name = Déjà Vu


caption = Film poster
director = Tony Scott
producer = Jerry Bruckheimer
writer = Bill Marsilii
Terry Rossiocite news
author = Ryan Cormier | title = Writer's strike puts Del. native 'on the line'
url = http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080113/LIFE/801130347/-1/NLETTER01
publisher = The News Journal
date = 2008-01-13 | accessdate = 2008-01-13
quote = "Déjà Vu," the $75 million Jerry Bruckheimer-produced, Tony Scott-directed movie that Marsilii co-wrote with Terry Rossio....]
starring = Denzel Washington
Val Kilmer
Paula Patton
Bruce Greenwood
Adam Goldberg
Jim Caviezel
music = Harry Gregson-Williams
cinematography = Paul Cameron
editing = Chris Lebenzon
distributor = Touchstone Pictures
Scott Free
released = November 22, 2006
runtime = 126 min.
language = English
budget = $75,000,000 US
imdb_id = 0453467

"Déjà Vu" is a science fiction crime thriller directed by Tony Scott, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Denzel Washington. The film was released on November 22, 2006.

Plot (as presented in the movie)

This section describes the plot as presented in the movie. Apparent inconsistencies and the assumption of multiple timelines are discussed in the "Extra-plot details" section below.

On Fat Tuesday in New Orleans, a ferry (the "Alvin T. Stumpf"") is carrying several hundred U.S. Navy sailors and their families, apparently from the USS Nimitz, from the Algiers dock to the celebration, when it explodes mid-river, killing more than five hundred on board. Agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is sent to investigate the explosion and discovers evidence that the attack was one of domestic terrorism. Doug meets with the investigating police officers and FBI Agent Paul Pryzwarra (Val Kilmer), letting them know of his findings. Back at his office, Doug learns about a charred body pulled from the river, that of a Claire Kuchever (Paula Patton). However, unlike the other bodies found in the river, this one is unusual: the body was discovered before the explosion.

After Pryzwarra is impressed with Doug's detective expertise, he convinces him to join a newly formed unit whose first case is to investigate the explosion. With a team led by scientist Dr. Alexander Denny (Adam Goldberg), they investigate the events leading up to the explosion by using a new program called "Snow White", which enables them to look into the past in detail. The catch is, they can only see the events once... there's no fast forwarding or rewinding. Convinced that Claire is a vital link to the case, Doug persuades the team to focus on her and eventually identifies her killer, who as it turns out is also the ferry's bomber. Doug later discovers that "Snow White" is a time machine, capable of sending inanimate objects into the past. Despite Denny's protests against tampering with the past, Doug has the team send a note advising of the terrorist attack to his office in the past, but Doug of the past misses the note. His partner, Larry Minuti (Matt Craven), sees it, however, goes to check up on it, and is killed by the terrorist.

Minuti's killer is taken into custody, causing the FBI to shut down its new unit. The killer is a dissillusioned man who is angry at the U.S. Government for being turned down for enlistment by the marines and army. However, Doug convinces Denny to do one last experiment: send Doug to the past. The procedure is risky, as until then no human had been sent through, and doing so could kill Doug, but he survives the trip. As Doug meets Claire and saves her from being killed, he sets into motion several events that result in scenes that were seen earlier in the movie: the aftermath of an ambulance crashing into a boat-supply store, which then explodes; the words "U CAN SAVE HER" spelled out on Claire's refrigerator; bloody rags in Claire's sink; blood-soaked pieces of cotton in a nearby wastebasket; Doug's fingerprints all over Claire's apartment; and a message on Claire's answering machine from Claire's friend Beth but also with a message from Claire saying that someone is in the house.

Taking Claire with him, Doug goes to the ferry where, with Claire's help, he kills the bomber. However, the bomb is still armed and Doug is running out of time. To save everyone on the ferry, Doug has Claire drive the SUV with the bomb off the ferry into the water. Claire is able to escape but Doug, however, is unable to get out before the bomb explodes, and is killed.

As Claire mourns Doug's death, she is approached by another Doug Carlin, the one from the present, who consoles her. Realizing that she has not lost Doug after all, Claire tells him that she is okay. As they drive off, the Beach Boys' song, "Don't Worry Baby," which had played at the beginning of the film, plays on the radio.

Background

Filming in New Orleans, Louisiana was delayed following Hurricane Katrina because of the devastation caused by the storm and the collapse of the Federal levees ("see:" Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans). Many of the exteriors were set to be shot in New Orleans, including a key sequence involving the Canal Street Ferry across the Mississippi River. After the city was reopened, the cast and crew returned to New Orleans to continue filming; some scenes of the post-Katrina devastation were worked into the plot, including in the Lower 9th Ward. They also spent two weeks filming a scene at a local bayou, Four Mile Bayou, in Morgan City, Louisiana.

Cast

Critics and box office

Deja Vu opened to mixed reviews. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film is rated 57% fresh. [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/deja_vu/] The US domestic box office was $64 m and the total worldwide box office $180 m [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=dejavu06.htm] , making it the 23rd most successful film of 2006.

References

ee also

*Primer

External links

*
* [http://video.movies.go.com/dejavu/ US official website]
* [http://bvimovies.com/uk/deja_vu UK official website]
* [http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/dejavu.html Official trailer]
*
* [http://www.yourmovies.com.au/news/index.cfm?action=news&i=113170 yourMovies interview: Jim Caviezel ]
* [http://www.wordplayer.com/archives/DEJAVU.script.zip Déjà Vu screenplay for download]