Megaville

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Megaville
Image:Megaville small. jpg
Directed by Peter Lehner
Produced by Robert Michael Steloff
Peter Lehner
Cynthia Hill
Andres Pfäffli
Christina Schmidlin
Written by Gordon Chavis
Peter Lehner
Narrated by J.C. Quinn
Starring Billy Zane
Kristen Cloke
Daniel J. Travanti
J.C. Quinn
Grace Zabriskie
Music by Stacy Widelitz
Cinematography Zoltán David
Editing by Pietro Scalia
Distributed by Flag of United States Live Home Video
Release date(s) Flag of United States 1990
Running time 95 minutes
Country Flag of United States United States
Language English (language)
Budget Unknown
IMDb profile

Megaville is an independent, low budget and direct-to-video 1990 American science fiction film, starring Billy Zane in his first lead role.

Contents

[edit] Taglines

  • Megadeals. Megabucks. Megalomania.
  • Megoliths. Megabucks. Megalomania.
  • Big city. Big bucks. Big trouble.
  • Welcome to the future.

[edit] Cast

  • Billy Zane as Agent Raymond Palinov/Jensen
  • J.C. Quinn as Mr. Newman
  • Kristen Cloke as Christine
  • Grace Zabriskie as Palinov's mother
  • Raymond O'Connor as Mr. Taylor
  • Daniel J. Travanti as Director Duprell
  • Stefan Gierasch as Dr. Vogel
  • John Lantz as Secretary of State Mr. Heller
  • Bryan Clark as Megaville President Hughes
  • Leslie Morris as Presidential Aide, Mr. Vargas
  • Vincent Guastaferro as the hotel clerk
  • Jim O'Doherty as Megaville TV Reporter

[edit] Plot overview

Megaville is a neo-noir psychological thriller film which utilises elements of science fiction such as cyberpunk and existentialism, and as such, shares similarities to a number of better-known and better-funded productions including Memento, Blade Runner and the Matrix series.

The story of Megaville is surprisingly similar to A Scanner Darkly, a novel by Philip K. Dick (which was adapted into a film of the same name starring Keanu Reeves in 2006) and some have suggested this was an inspiration for the film, although this is unconfirmed. Megaville was an independent production and similarities are likely coincidental.

[edit] Detailed summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In the future, national boundaries have been broken down and two only giant super-states remain -- effectively, two separate world governments -- one is the bleak, oppressive and totalitarian "Hemisphere", and the other is a sprawling and futuristic metropolis known as "Megaville" that is supposedly ruled by a democracy.

Megaville is depicted as a dystopian Los Angeles-esque megacity. Many shots of Los Angeles were shown to depict the ecumenopolis with simplistic matte paintings used over them. In one scene the Los Angeles Convention Center is used as a "futuristic" structure, as is Los Angeles International Airport.

Megaville is governed by a democracy and has an elected president, but we later learn the entire system is decadent from top to bottom and is rife with corruption, sleaze and even murder. All forms of media are encouraged in Megaville, but this supposed freedom has only aided the social and moral decay, with the distribution of pornography and movies with extreme violence and other such vices are prolific. The media is, in fact, used as a sedative or controlling factor by the Megaville authorities against the people in the manner of propaganda which removes attention away from the issues of the day, and appeals only to the baser instincts in people. The president makes weekly state broadcasts to the people of Megaville in which he describes the twisted media as "free enterprise".

The population of Megaville live relatively comfortable lives, and are fed well and receive good health care, but at the same time the excitement of living has been taken away from them and they lead uninteresting and sterilised lives like automatons. One thing the population look forward to in their drab lives is changing their physical appearance regularly by receiving advanced plastic surgery, a strange form of escapism which is apparently available free by the state and another form of subduing the masses.

Outside Megaville lies another giant city-state known simply as the "Hemisphere". However, whereas Megaville is clean and ordered, at least in appearance, the Hemisphere (or "the sphere" as it is also known) is outwardly in a state of decay from what we see of it. There are no futuristic structures in the Hemisphere as there are in Megaville. The architecture of the sphere resembles a city on the Eastern Seaboard (perhaps Boston or Baltimore), although the structures are heavily dilapidated apparently through misuse and neglect, and few structures appear to have electricity and the sphere is dimly-lit on a night.

Very few citizens of the Hemisphere, if any, are permitted to travel to Megaville. One is only allowed to do this when issued a special form of passport, and only privileged or exceptionally wealthy citizens of the Hemisphere are granted this honour (only actually members of the ruling body which is known as the "administration"). The Hemisphere has its own armed forces and there are apparently separatists also; it is mentioned that there is a civil war happening in the Hemisphere, although this is not seen.

An outwardly totalitarian regime governs the daily life of civilians in the Hemisphere, and the people live in fear of the "CKS", the secret police. In a direct polar opposite of Megaville, all forms of media are illegal in the Hemisphere and there are no state broadcasts. Televisions, radios, VCRs, cassettes, and slide projectors are all banned and confiscated by the "media police", a military-style, government-founded agency. Naturally this has resulted in a boom in the black market and citizens can often be found huddled in dark basements and subways, watching old films and programs and various recordings on outlawed equipment. Some broadcasts from Megaville may reach the Hemisphere, such as the weekly Presidential address, but the Hemisphere administration has put a scramble on them. Un-scrambling these broadcasts is punishable by death.

Raymond Palinov (portrayed by Billy Zane in his first starring role) is an unassuming and almost submissive citizen of the Hemisphere, living in a small, simply-furnished and leaky apartment with his doting mother (portrayed by Hollywood veteran Grace Zabriskie). His father was a decorated hero in the armed forces of the Hemipshere, who has since been killed in action. Raymond Palinov lives an almost spartan existence but it is similarly a life of relative comfort compared to many of the deprived have-nots of the Hemisphere.

Palinov is naively loyal to the Hemisphere regime and believes in their dictated and skewered philosophy that all forms of media are inherently corrupt and depraved. Palinov is also a career-minded cog in the system, believing he is doing society a service, and has steadily risen through the ranks of the media police from ground grunt, to agent, to captain, the rank which he now holds. He has been trained to be like a machine; completely emotionless, hiding all manner of emotion, being totally loyal to the regime, and singularly focused on one target. Palinov's methods are highly efficient and his service record shows many successful infiltrations and raids and hundreds of arrests, amounting to millions of pounds worth of confiscated black market media equipment. Despite this Palinov has a quiet and pleasant personality, who loathes all forms of violence.

Something strange begins to happen to Palinov. On one particular raid, he finds himself drawn to an old black and white spaghetti western playing out on a 1970s style television set, and cannot pull away from it. The film fascinates Palinov, which he finds disturbing, as he has never had an interest in such things before. Still he is unable to stop himself from watching the film, before one of his men destroys the television set with a sledge hammer. Palinov is ostracised by his own superior for this incident, what appears to be an act of insubordination, although only temporarily; he is allowed to keep his post due to his past exemplary service record.

After this event in which he nearly loses his job, Palinov begins to exhibit strange character traits which are unusual for him. During a rally in which reviled and outlawed media recordings are shown to the media police as an instance of they are to look for, Palinov finds himself enjoying the recordings and even begins to laugh out loud at a comedy clip, causing much concern and surprise amongst his colleagues. Sweat pouring from him, he promptly appears to have a complete mental breakdown, and collapses, unconscious.

Wheras most agents would have been terminated following such an incident, Palinov is spared as he is not deemed dispensable to the regime. Palinov is showing unusual brain activity and so sent for an examination by the top neurosurgeon in the Hemisphere, Dr. Vogel, at the headquarters of CKS, the intelligence service. Palinov explains to Dr. Vogel that he has been having unexplained blackouts for the past few days. He has also been having bizarre flashbacks of events which he himself has not experienced, and seeing memories in dreams which are not his own memories. Dr. Vogel tells Palinov he believes the strange behaviour is no doubt due to years of Palinov's exposure to media "filth" and initiates a procedure ("anestatisation") which he explains will wipe out the unexplained electrical brain activity, remove the memory of the past few days and restore Palinov's personality in its entirety.

The procedure doesn't appear to work, and Palinov's mental episodes become steadily worse, something which he tries to hide from others. Still he goes to be "anestatised" once more. His headaches become intense and Palinov dreams a strange dream in which he is a child in a parking lot; another child bites his leg, and Palinov picks up a rock and with it bashes in the other child's skull. After this Palinov also has a horrible nightmare of shooting dead two children in their beds. Upon waking from sleep, blood has appeared to flow from his ears and nose.

Palinov is contacted by Mr. Duprell, the director of the CKS, the secret service of the Hemisphere. Duprell (portrayed by Daniel J. Travanti) has a very significant infiltration assignment for Palinov. The Hemisphere war against all forms of media is about to step up a notch, with the news of the inevitable introduction of a new and dangerous form of media on the black market. It is known as "Dream-A-Life", or simply "DAL". It comes in the form of a simple headset which when worn projects directly into the brain and induces powerful, pre-programmed hallucinations of the customer's choice. However, some customers in Megaville have had their brains scrambled by the device and left with permanent psychosis, or have began to lead new lives in a fantasy world of their own making, completely detached from reality. Some have even been turned to a vegetative and catatonic state.

However the ultra-corrupt government of Megaville has already deemed DAL legal and it has become prevalent across Megaville, along with the help of a mysterious figure of the Megaville underworld and apparent big-time smuggler, known only as Mr. Newman. The information the CKS have on the subject is sketchy at best, but Duprell explains to Palinov that it is only a matter of time before Mr. Newman begins to turn his business to the Hemisphere and flood the black market with dangerous Dream-A-Life devices, resulting in many deaths and the destruction everything Palinov has fought to protect. Duprell also explains that Palinov bears a striking physical resemblance to Mr. Newman's known only contact in the Hemisphere -- a figure known only as Mr. Jensen, who incidentally has been missing for ten days, and the CKS secretly have in custody. Palinov's mission is to assume Jensen's life and infiltrate the criminal underworld of both the Hemisphere and Megaville, discover who Mr. Newman is working with and who is supplying the DAL to him, and who Mr. Newman's contacts are in the Hemisphere. In order to assist his infiltration, Palinov is implanted with some of Jensen's memories, which Dr. Vogel explains may result in more nasty headaches and result in stranger dreams.

Undercover Palinov meets Jensen's jilted lover, Christine (portrayed by Kristen Cloke) who is a former sapper and demolitions expert for the armed forces, who deserted and went AWOL after being ordered to blow up a domicile with civilians inside. From Christine, Palinov learns some disturbing information regarding Jensen. Christine demands that Jensen live up to an earlier promise and take her to Megaville; if he does not she will open up her army-issued briefcase full of explosives, automatically detonating it and killing both of them. After travelling to Megaville with Christine and meeting with the dapper, well-spoken and apparently very intelligent Mr. Newman (portrayed by J.C. Quinn), the situation is further complicated. Mr Newman refuses to reveal any information about his operation and also refuses to travel to the Hemisphere as he knows there is a trap. Now unsure what to do, Palinov also learns that Jensen was a cold-blooded, almost sadistic killer who shot dead two sleeping children of a business rival in their beds -- the same event which has been occurring in his dreams.

Palinov uses a free sample Dream-A-Life device in a hotel room when curiosity gets the better of him. He lives out his fantasy of being a gunslinger in a western, but it also nearly kills him, and he goes on a rampage. The next day, Palinov is pursued by various underworld types who want in on the lucrative DAL deal in the Hemisphere. Paliniov is beaten up by the burly bodyguard of a diminutive gangster, Mr. Taylor, whom Jensen owes money. Mr Taylor tells Palinov that he will let him live if he is let in on the deal.

The president of Megaville, who has apparently had a change of heart, is assassinated whilst making his weekly public broadcast by having a plastic bag placed over his head. In the minute before his death, he was warning about the dangers posed by Dream-A-Life -- therefore it appears the conspiracy involving Mr. Newman spreads to the upper echelons of Megaville society. Palinov suspects that Mr. Newman is involved. The only witness is the president's personal aide, Mr. Vargas, who is now permanently trapped in a Dream-A-Life induced hallucination. When Palinov attempts to remove the headset, the aide is shot dead in broad daylight by none other then Mr. Newman himself.

Mr. Duprell contacts Palinov through a hidden implant in his brain, the "Kreuger device", and informs him to close the deal with Mr. Newman or Palinov's mother will die and explains he no longer wants to stop Dream-A-Life but indeed wants in on the deal. Palinov refuses and Duprell attempts to kill him by increasing the electrical output of the Kreuger device and blowing up Palinov's brain. Palinov's mother saves him by destroying Duprell's transmitting device, but then she is murdered when Dr. Vogel shoots her in the chest. However, before she dies she reveals the truth to Palinov through the brain implant -- she is not his mother and he is not really Palinov, but actually Jensen implanted with Palinov's mind. The real Palinov lies in a catatonic state in the CKS headquarters, and soon after these revelations flat-lines due to brain death.

Palinov wonders to what extent Duprell and Newman know each other, and tries to interrogate the creator of the Dream-A-Life device, Mr Scutnik. Mr Scutnik believes his device is a "great gift to mankind", he pulls a gun and handcuffs Palinov to the steering wheel of his own car, which has run out of gas on the interstate highway. Mr. Scutnik is later apprehended by Mr. Newman and presumably murdered. Meanwhile Palinov is rescued by Christine, and the pair escape deeper into the Mojave desert to contemplate their situation. They are pursued by Mr. Taylor and his bodyguard, and all except Palinov are killed in a shoot-out. Christine dies in Palinov's arms.

Duprell is watching Palinov through Palinov's own mind, and Palinov finally realises this. Palinov uses a Dream-A-Life device on himself so that Duprell will see Palinov's fantasy -- exposing Duprell's activities on a Megaville national broadcast -- and Duprell sees it as reality also. Palinov explains that all the evidence is in a briefcase left behind by Christine at her apartment in the Hemisphere. Duprell orders the briefcase to be retrieved, and opens it. It is actually a bomb which Christine left behind and Duprell and Dr. Vogel are killed as the CKS headquarters explodes.

The device leaves Palinov almost dead, apparently causing irreparable brain damage, and he finds he is barely unable to move in the blistering desert sun and blood pours profusely from his ears and nose. He is then approached by Mr. Newman, who pulls out a gun and tells Palinov that he is going to put him out his misery. This is an act of compassion, Mr. Newman explains, as he is actually the biological father of Jensen, and he doesn't want to see his son suffer. He proves this by relating Jensen's childhood memories which Palinov has experienced in his dreams, such as the event where the bashed in another kid's head with a rock.

Just before Mr. Newman pulls the trigger, he says that killing his own son will be difficult, and he wished they could have spent more time together. He then shoots Palinov dead. He then looks back and notices that, as a last act, Palinov had handcuffed his wrist to Mr. Newman's leg, effectively trapping Mr. Newman in the desert heat with the corpse of his son. Supposedly the key to the handcuffs is nowhere to be found. A doomed Mr. Newman laughs at the irony of his situation and his laugh echoes across the barren, lifeless terrain.

Presumably Mr. Newman dies in the desert, and he spends the time he wanted with his son, ironically. Mr Newman's death would also presumably mean the end of the Dream-A-Life trade, and in this manner Palinov has averted perhaps tens of thousands of deaths across the world. He has also removed the secret police of the Hemisphere and a large section of the criminal underworld of Megaville, leaving the hope of a better tomorrow.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] External links

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