RED LIGHTS

US, 2012, 114 minutes, Colour.
Sigourney Weaver, Robert de Niro, Cilian Murphy, Toby Jones, Elizabeth Olsen, Joely Richardson.
Directed by Rodrigo Cortes.

Red Lights is an interesting film but had very little release, despite its stellar cast. It is a story about the psychic world, psychics and the public demonstrations, the popular aspects of their work and the response of audiences, as well as a film about psychologists and researchers who want to expose confidence trickery.
Sigourney Weaver is Margaret, head of the unit which works on demonstrating the hoaxes put up by alleged psychics. It has been a lifelong quest for her. In the meantime, her own scepticism is tested because her son is in coma and she does not want to turn off the life-support, uncertain about any afterlife and what would happen. This makes her feel guilty.
Her main target is a long-popular psychic played by Robert De Niro. He is blind, has had a long career of psychic presentations. Another psychologist, played by Toby Jones, wants to demonstrate that Silver is a fraud and sets up a range of tests which Silver passes.
However, it is Margaret’s young associate, Tom, played with his usually intensity by Cilian Murphy, who has worked with Margaret and is determined to expose Silver. At a final demonstration, there is chaos and a new insight into what has motivated Tom.
Elizabeth Olsen appears as a research student and Joely Richardson is in the cast.
The film was directed by Rodrigo Cortez, Spanish director, whose previous film was the claustrophobic Ryan Reynolds vehicle, Buried.

1. An interesting drama? Not widely seen? Themes, psychological, touches of magic? The strong cast?
2. The American setting, academia? Popular outlets for psychics and the public? The contrast with ordinary life and the psychological world? Issues of reality, fakery, confidence tricks? The title?
3. Sigourney Weaver as Margaret, a strong woman, her career, sceptical, her work in exposing fakes? Her scepticism because of her son, being in a coma, issues of afterlife, turning off machines, her sense of guilt? Her collaboration with Tom? Silver as one of her targets? Her quest against him? Her heart attack?
4. Tom, his age, experience, working with Margaret? Collaboration and exposes? The details of the frauds? His quest, the revelation at the end about himself and his powers? The relationship with Sally, her work as a student, her research?
5. Tom and Margaret, the skills, the range of hoaxes, the demonstrations? Motivations for the work of the fakes? Their activities? Silver and his long career, Margaret and the heart attack, Tom continuing the quest? The background issues of funding? The reputation of the unit?
6. Silver, Robert De Niro as presence? Blind? His psychic powers, the demonstrations, performance, his audiences and their acclaim? Behind the scenes? His true personality? Tom and his targeting him? Stalking him, through the streets?
7. Shackleton, his reputation, his position, research, reactions, accusations? Silver’s response, going through the tests? The detail of attention? His passing the tests?
8. Sally, work with Tom, the footage of Silver, the revelation of his pretence?
9. The build-up to the finale, silver assert himself, on stage? Tom’s arrival? The exploding lights? Silver’s blindness exposed?
10. The truth about Tom, his powers, that they were genuine? That his quest was to find someone else similar to himself?
11. The overall impact of the film, the different theme, interesting, different characters? Issues of psychology, psychic behaviour, deceiving the public?