Dark City (Rufus Sewell)

REVIEW
In an unnamed city with striking architectural design -- an amalgam of M, Metropolis and Tim Burton's Batman -- a young man (Sewell) wakes up in a bathtub, a corpse in the next room. All evidence points to his being a serial killer, but he has no memory whatsoever. Did he really do it? And who are those weird bald men who are trailing him? And why is the city's populace asleep for a short time every evening? Aided in his investigation by an initially antagonistic police detective (an excellent Hurt) and a wife he can't remember (Connelly), Sewell begins to unravel the truth behind the mysteries. Director-cowriter Proyas' superior follow-up to The Crow is a riveting, gorgeous sci-fi thriller, as well as a fascinating examination of memory, identity and free will. Some may feel the eye-popping effects overwhelm a thin story, but the visuals are truly in the service of an exciting, well-crafted tale. There's no denying Dark City's visual splendor.