8MM exposes world of porn, murder

Nicholas Cage's latest film, 8MM, which opened Friday, allows the viewer to journey under the rock of society and witness the creepy animals that worm around our world.

In this dark suspense film from Andrew K. Walker, the writer of Seven, Cage plays Tom Welles, a home-based private detective in Harrisburg, Pa. Welles, a family man with a wife and baby daughter, makes a living by tracking down cheating spouses and insurance fraud cases. He doesn't get involved with anything too dangerous.

That is, until a small, innocuous-looking plastic reel of film turns Welles' life upside down, sending him on a nightmarish path into society's darkest corners. The case he is working on is one commissioned to him by a recently widowed millionaire who admires the detective's reputation for confidentiality.

The widow finds a film that depicts horrible child pornography turned deadly when a young girl is apparently murdered on film. The widow wants Welles to investigate the film and prove what appeared to take place never actually occurred.

This endeavor proves to be a long, hellish journey for both Welles and the viewer. Many parts of this film are hard to digest and understand -- not because they seem so outlandish, but because the underground world of pornography and violent, sadistic behavior is something we as a society rarely deal with. We can easily push it away by not associating ourselves with it. However, Cage's character has no choice but to dive head first into this dark, loathsome world. It becomes increasingly interesting to watch how Welles deals with the atrocities that surround him, how it changes him and finally how he deals with it in order to resolve the case.

A fine, edge-of-your-seat movie, 8 MM carries itself with a Silence of the Lambs quality. But be warned, it is highly graphic in nature and assumption. This movie is not intended for people who want nothing more than a good laugh or a cheap thrill ride.

Cage's performance is gritty and noble. He is helped a great deal by Joaquin Phoenix who plays the role of Max California, the virtuous porn dealer who helps Cage's character make contacts and enter the underground world. Phoenix also turned in a solid performance.

The film moves along neatly and doesn't leave the viewer questioning the motive or the story line.

Even though 8 MM is a quality-movie worth seeing, you may wish you never saw what lies beneath the surface of our society.