Strange Days (movie) - Definition and Overview

Strange Days is a 1995 science fiction film starring Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett. It is based on a story written by James Cameron and directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

Plot Summary

The story takes place in a dysopic near-future of 1999 a few days before the new millennium. The world is on the verge of world war and the United States is wracked with racial conflict. Lenny Nero (played by Fiennes) is an fallen ex-policeman turned street-hustler. He deals in Virtual reality tapes, in which memories (including all sensory inputs like sight, hearing, smell, touch) are recorded from the cerebral cortex through a skull cap with superconducting SQUID sensors and can be played back by another individual through a MiniDisc player-like device. His friend, Lornette Mace Mason (played by Bassett) a martial arts expert cum chauffeur who also provides security for her clients, is disappointed in his current condition where he is wasting his life without any ambition and still pining his lost relationship with singer Faith (played by Juliette Lewis). He receives a snuff "black jack" tape of a street prostitue. Lenny investigates the tape and it leads to Philo (played by Michael Wincott), Faith's new boyfriend, a talent manager. Lenny receives more snuff tapes and eventually he discovers that the murders are related to a coverup of the murder of a popular black rap artist named Jericho One. Lenny and Mace are in a race to find the relationship between the snuff tapes and Philo before the murderer catches up with them.

Themes

The people who are addicted to the Virtual Reality playback become modern-day Lotus Eaters.

The moral ambivalence of the main character and the tone of the movie make it a modern example of film noir.