The CellFor the upcoming lm, see Cell (lm).For other uses, see The Cell (disambiguation).The Cell is a 2000 American psychological thriller lmdirected by Tarsem Singh, and starring Jennifer Lopez,Vince Vaughn and Vincent D'Onofrio.1 PlotChild psychologist Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez) isan expert in an experimental treatment for coma patients:a virtual reality device that allows her to enter into theminds of her patients and attempt to coax them into con-sciousness. When serial killer Carl Rudolph Stargher(Vincent D'Onofrio) falls into a coma before the FBI canlocate his nal victim, Agent Novak (Vince Vaughn) per-suades Deane to enter Starghers mind and discover thevictims location.[1] Starghers victim is imprisoned in acell in the form of a glass enclosure that is slowly llingwith water by means of an automatic timer.Deane enters Starghers twisted mind, where she is con-fronted by both the violent and the innocent parts of thekillers psyche. The innocent half shows her the abuse hesuered at his fathers hands and the birth of his pathol-ogy when he drowned an injured bird as a mercy killing.Deane attempts to nurture the innocent side of Starghersmind, but his murderous half thwarts her at every turn.DespiteDeanesbest eorts, shebecomestrappedinStarghers dark dreamscape. Novak volunteers to enterStarghers mind and attempts to rescue her. He breaksDeane from Starghers hold and discovers clues to thewhereabouts of his victim. Novak relates his revelationsto his team and they are able to track down the loca-tion of Starghers victim (Stargher had been entrustedby a company to take care of an advanced water pump,which he used to ll the cell with water). Novak discoversStarghers secret underground room and saves Starghersvictim just in time. Meanwhile, Deane decides to re-verse the process and pull Starghers mind into her own.She presents Starghers innocent side with a paradise, buthis murderous side is always present and manifests as aserpent. This time, however, Deane has all the power; sheattacks the serpent/Stargher but discovers she cannot de-stroy one half without killing the other. Starghers inno-cent side reminds her of the bird he drowned, and she killshim to put him out of his misery. She adopts Starghersdog and successfully uses her new technique on her othercoma patient (Colton James).2 CastJennifer Lopez as Dr. Catherine DeaneVincent D'Onofrio as Carl Rudolph StargherVince Vaughn as Special Agent Peter NovakJake Weber as Special Agent Gordon RamseyDylan Baker as Henry WestMarianne Jean-Baptiste as Dr. Miriam KentTara Subko as Julia HicksonCatherine Sutherland as Anne Marie VickseyPruitt Taylor Vince as Dr. ReidColton James as Edward BainesMusetta Vander as Ella BainesJake Thomas as Young Carl Rudolph StargherDean Norris as ColeR. LeeErmey, inaashbackas Carl RudolphStarghers former drill sergeant. Ermey played thesame role in the lm Full Metal Jacket, which alsostared Vincent D'Onofrio as one of the soldiers intraining.3 Artistic inuencesSome of the scenes in The Cell are inspired by works ofart. A scene in which a horse is split into sections byfalling glass panels was inspired by the works of Britishartist Damien Hirst. The lm also includes scenes basedon the work of other late 20th century artists, includ-ing Odd Nerdrum, H. R. Giger and the Brothers Quay.Tarsem who began his career directing music videossuch as En Vogue's Hold On and R.E.M.'s "LosingMy Religion" drew upon such imagery for Starghersdream sequences. In particular,he was inuenced byvideos directed by Mark Romanek, such as "Closer" and"The Perfect Drug" by Nine Inch Nails, "Bedtime Story"by Madonna, and the many videos that Floria Sigismondidirected for Marilyn Manson. During a scene, Jennifer12 7 REFERENCESLopez falls asleep watching a lm; the lm is FantasticPlanet.In the scene where Catherine talks with Carl while he iscleaning his rst victim, the scenery resembles the mu-sic video Losing My Religion by R.E.M.. The scenewhere Peter Novak rst enters the mind of Carl Stargher,and is confronted by three females with open mouths tothe sky is based on the painting Dawn by Norwegianpainter Odd Nerdrum. The scene when Catherine Deaneis chasing Carl through a stone hallway, right before sheenters the room with the horse, is based on a painting byH. R. Giger called Schacht.Apsychiatrist enteringthedreams of aninsanepa-tient in order to take control of the dreams and so tocure the patients mind (this being a very risky attempt,because the insanity may prevailduring such neuro-participatory therapy) was described in the novella HeWho Shapes (1965) byRoger Zelazny, but thelmDreamscape (1984), subsequently developed from Ze-laznys basic idea, had a completely dierent plot.4 Additional informationDirector Tarsem Singh asked Tara Subko during her in-terview if she could swim, to which she responded thatshe could and that she had been a lifeguard. It turnedout that she could not go underwater without holding hernose. Singh would have switched her role with CatherineSutherland, but it was too late and there was not enoughmoney or time to re-shoot.[2]The scene where the Special Agents are trying to con-vince Dr. Catherine Deane to enter the killers mind wasrecorded at the Barcelona Pavilion in Barcelona, Spain.5 ReceptionCritical reaction to The Cell has been mixed, with a scoreof 45% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 143 reviews.[3]Roger Ebert gave the lm four stars out of four, writing:For all of its visual pyrotechnics, its also a story wherewe care about the characters; theres a lot at stake at theend, and we're involved. I know people who hate it, nd-ing it pretentious or unrestrained; I think its one of thebest lms of the year.[4] Ebert later placed the lmon hislist of The Best 10 Movies of 2000, writing: Tarsem,the director, is a visual virtuoso who juggles his story-lines eortlessly; its dazzling, the way he blends so manynotes, styles and genres into a lm so original.[5]James Berardinelli gave the lm three stars out of four,writing:"The Cell becomes the rst serial killer featurein a long time to take the genre in a new direction. Notonly does it defy formulaic expectations, but it challengesthe viewer to think and consider the horrors that can turnan ordinary child into an inhuman monster. There are noeasy answers, and The Cell doesn't pretend to oer any.Instead, Singh presents audiences with the opportunity togo on a harrowing journey. For those who are up to thechallenge, its worth spending time in The Cell.[6]Conversely, StephenHunter of The WashingtonPostcalledit contrived, arbitrary, andoverdrawn.[7]Slate's David Edelstein panned the lm as well, writ-ing: When I go to a serial-killer ick, I don't want tosee the serialkiller (or even his inner child) coddledand empathized with and forgiven. I want to see himshot, stabbed, impaled, eviscerated, and nally engulfed shrieking in ames. The Cell serves up some ofthe most gruesomely misogynistic imagery in years, thenends with a bid for understanding.[8] Jonathan Rosen-baum of the Chicago Reader remarked, Theres almostno plot here and even less character just a lot of pre-texts for S&Mimagery, Catholic decor, gobs of gore, andthe usual designer schizophrenia.[9]The lm received a nomination for the Academy Awardfor Best Makeup.6 SequelMain article: The Cell 2A sequel was released direct to DVD on June 16, 2009.The story centers on The Cusp, a serial killer who mur-ders his victims, and then brings them back to life, overand over again until they beg to die. Maya (Tessie Santi-ago) is a psychic investigator and surviving victim of TheCusp, whose abilities developed after spending a year in acoma. Maya must use her powers to travel into the mindof the killer unprotected, in order to save his latest victim.7 References[1] Datlow, Ellen; Windling, Terri (2001). The Years BestFantasyandHorror: FourteenthAnnual Collection (14ed.). Macmillan. p. xc. ISBN 0-312-27544-7.[2] IMDB: The Cell.[3] The Cell Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes[4] The Cell :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews[5] The Best 10 Movies of 2000 :: rogerebert.com :: News &comment[6] Cell, The - A movie review by James Berardinelli[7] StephenHunter(August 11, 2000). TrappedintheSynapses of Evil. Washington Post.[8] Depth Psychology - By David Edelstein - Slate Magazine[9] The Cell - Capsule by Jonathan Rosenbaum - From theChicago Reader38 External linksThe Cell at the Internet Movie DatabaseThe Cell at AllMovieThe Cell at Box Oce MojoThe Cell at Rotten Tomatoes4 9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses9.1 Text The Cell Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cell?oldid=669782686 Contributors: Atlan, DavidWBrooks, Ehn, RickK, Whisper-ToMe, Dimadick, Robbot, DoubleCross, Jackol, Klemen Kocjancic, MakeRocketGoNow, D6, Autiger, Xezbeth, RJHall, *drew, MBisanz,23skidoo, La goutte de pluie, Wtmitchell, Erik II, Uucp, Cburnett, Wadems, Woohookitty, Mutt, Insomniac By Choice, AnmaFinotera,Tallyho70, Scandum, MarnetteD, FlaBot, Takometer, Chobot, YurikBot, Wisekwai, Howcheng, Aglie~enwiki, Fallout boy, Joshmaul,Closedmouth, Alakazam, Garion96, Flamma, Trolleymusic, SmackBot, Dstumme, Gilliam, Chris the speller, Toughpigs, OOODDD,Parent5446,T-borg,EVula,Freemarket,Tredanse,SingCal,SweetHeart666,Disavian,AMENDEZ183,AB, The Man in Question,Macellarius, Darthemed, Whomp, Hellogoodsir, Cbrown1023, AngelOfMusic, Mika1h, Cydebot, Treybien, CovenantD, NorthernThun-der, Captain Crawdad, Anomrabbit, MrMarmite, Nicholas0, Andrzejbanas, 09aidepikiw, MegX, Wildhartlivie, Angelofdeath275, Baki-las, Murgh, Bongwarrior, DerHexer, Rickard Vogelberg, MartinBot, Juansidious, R'n'B, Pekaje, LedgendGamer, Stevereiss06, J.delanoy,Altes, Jonesy702, LadyMeerkat, Belovedfreak, Thesis4Eva, Sgeureka, VolkovBot, Bovineboy2008, Magnius, Besttrousers, Deepsnowi80,SieBot, Scarian, BotMultichill, Polbot, Enarchay, 354d, Martarius, ClueBot, Fadesga, All Hallows Wraith, YtseWolf, Piastu, Drmies,Littledude835, Juanpensamiento, Jonjames1986, CowboySpartan, 6afraidof7, Zombie433, DumZiBoT, Fastily, Badinnity, SilvonenBot,MystBot, Marchije, Addbot, Tigerman1138, Lampford, SoSaysChappy, TriiipleThreat, Favonian, Tassedethe, Evans1982, Backslash For-wardslash, AnomieBOT, DirlBot, Obersachsebot, Anonymous fromthe 21st century, Haruvister, Erik9bot, D'ohBot, Freshh, Javert, Pshent,JIK1975, Calmer Waters, RedBot, MastiBot, Typhoon966, MikeAllen, Bardego, Wikiteer461, RjwilmsiBot, Energy Dome, Eekerz, The-Cellinc, The Mysterious El Willstro, Marek Koudelka, ZroBot, SporkBot, Idan Assaf, InfamousPrince, Ebehn, RajaNeela1993, JoyceZam,Widr, Darthpineapple401, Helpful Pixie Bot, Aranea Mortem, Arre 9, Khazar2, DrABN, MartinJacobson, Cawmen Ridah, Antonio Urruand Anonymous: 1469.2 Images File:Question_book-new.svgSource: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svgLicense: Cc-by-sa-3.0Contributors:Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. 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