20151011: Drama Review--Sphere

Name: Sphere (1998)
IMDb: Sphere

Genres: Drama, Mystery, SciFi  Country of Origin: USA.

Cast: Dustin Hoffman as Norman Goodman, Sharon Stone as Beth Halperin, Samuel L. Jackson as Harry Adams, Liev Schreiber as Ted Fielding, Peter Coyote as Harold Barnes, Queen Latifah as Alice Fletcher.

Directed by: Barry Levinson.   Written by: Michael Crichton (novel), Kurt Wimmer (adaptation).

The Three Acts: 

Initial Tableau: Dr Goodman is being escorted out to sea to aid distressed survivors of an airplane crash.  On the way, he sees many naval vessels, which increases his curiosity.  Then he is put into isolation, after which he meets old friends: Dr Halperin (biology), Dr Adams (mathematics), Dr Fielding (astrophysics).  Along with Captain Barnes, they are taken to a facility 1000 feet below sea level.

Delineation of Conflicts:  The site the team is taken to was constructed to study a huge space ship discovered on the seafloor.  The people in the team were chosen to match a report that Norman wrote some ten years before.  Hence Beth, Harry, and Ted all blame Norman for anything that happens during their current predicament.  In his report, Norman had chosen people he knew well for each position in this 'first alien contact' team.  As the work progresses, Barnes has choice words for Norman as well.  Besides the human interactions stemming from past choices, the team has to face the enigma within the space ship, and do their best to survive its considerable power.

Resolution: Working through the puzzle is well worth the time.

One line summary: An intelligent first contact film.

Statistics: 

Cinematography: 10/10 Looks professional, which I seldom see.  The use of practical effects, plus the near absence of CGI helped greatly.

Sound: 8/10 Not much of an issue.  This is a movie executed through dialog, not mood music.

Acting: 10/10 The stellar cast delivered.

Screenplay: 8/10 Well done.  The second act might seem a tad long, but the short third act is well worth it.

Final Rating: 9/10