Danny Boyle’s intelligent film, 28 Days Later, is not really the zombie slasher film that it was sent up as. Instead, it’s an articulate film about survival and humanity told through the relationships of the characters and the situations they find themselves in. The virus plot is simply a backdrop for Boyle’s profound exploration of what human beings would do in such a desolate and desperate situation. 28 Days Later, sadly, degrades itself to conventional plot holes and storyline gaffes in the closing half and doesn’t quite recuperate the maddening glory of the first portion of the film. Nonetheless, it is a credible film and well worth a look.
28 Days Later is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror science fiction film, by any rights of definition. It is set in Great Britain and depicts the accidental release of a contagious virus on the people. Boyle’s film sheds light on the subsequent breakdown of society as a result of this viral infection, as people turn to animals and struggle to suit their instincts. We are never told of a direct motivation for the infected people in 28 Days Later, just that they appear to run in packs and, for some reason, do not seem to attack other infected individuals. The infection spreads through the bloodline and takes approximately twenty seconds to take over the body of a human being, making time of the essence.
Cillian Murphy stars as Jim, a bicycle courier. He awakens in a hospital and quickly finds the world around him to appear “empty.” In a variety of stunning and lavish shots, we are shown the world as Jim sees it. London’s streets are bare, devoid of any human presence, and the utter desolation is setting in. Jim calls out for someone, anyone, but finds no answer. As he travels through the barren streets, he comes in contact with a pair of survivors and plans are set in motion to get through this situation in one piece. Jim and Selena (Naomie Harris), one of the survivors, eventually find a father (Brendan Gleeson) and his teenage daughter (Megan Burns) and attempt to get through the storm together. This leads to several situations of maddening intensity, many of which are sadly downgraded through the use of action film lookalike sequences.
Nonetheless, 28 Days Later remains a powerful film for many reasons. The first of these reasons is the sheer look of the desolation gripping Great Britain. Boyle shot the majority of the film on digital video, giving the film a clear and crisp look. The streets of London were partially blocked off to shoot several of the deserted sequences, so the smaller digital camera made shooting in such a brief window of time more efficient. Much of the film was shot quickly and with great efficiency by Boyle and his crew, including the scene in which the double-decker bus is shown tipped on its side. The crew tipped the bus, cameras got rolling, and Murphy moved past the tipped bus. The scene was shot entirely in about twenty or so minutes. This type of efficiency and attention to detail to capture as much realism as possible helps create a truly gritty and concise feel for the film.
Another reason the film works is because of the characters. Murphy is great as Jim, capturing his able desperation and panic without overdoing anything. He attempts to give Jim a somewhat staggered sense of optimism, allowing him to glance at the horizon without losing the innate fear of the situation as a whole. This crafts a really engaging character out of Jim and keeps the story humming along nicely. Harris is equally compelling as Selena, the tough-as-nails woman who will waste an “infected” within seconds, no questions asked. Her harsh stance on life reflects the notions of a realist, yet as the events continue and as Selena herself evolves, she learns new things about life and begins to adapt her feelings to her fragile surroundings. Harris, like Murphy, never presses too much.
28 Days Later does falter near the conclusion of the film, denigrating into typical action fodder, which is disappointing given the careful build throughout the film. The military sequences and the additional characters seemed, to me, to provide the film with overcrowding and too much sustenance, when the “less is more” approach would have been more consistent with Boyle’s introductions to the piece and to the characters. So instead of cataloging a powerful thriller with bite, Boyle’s 28 Days Later heads down familiar genre territory and self-destructs. It’s too bad, really, because the quality of filmmaking and performances in the film deserved a better ending.
Nonetheless, 28 Days Later is an enjoyable little creeper of a film. It’s gritty, nice to look at, and has engaging characters that develop nicely over time. Boyle’s film is a partial change from the genre classics, but doesn’t revolutionize the whole way and abandons ship halfway through, giving way to shallow conventions and atypical role-playing.
6/10
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