INFERNO
US, 2016, 121 minutes, Colour.
Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Ben Foster, Omar Sy, Irrfan Khan, Sidse Babett Knudsen.
Directed by Ron Howard.
The poster for Inferno is not wrong. It features Tom Hanks with Felicity Jones behind him racing through the city of Florence. This begins the pattern of novels and film versions of Dan Brown stories, Professor Robert Langdon, an associate, and a quest.
With The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, there was something of a pattern for Dan Brown’s plots: some kind of world-shattering crisis, the deciphering of an obscure code, a race against time, danger after danger, and one of the characters doing a 180° (rather unbelievable, if not preposterous) moral change. This is what happens here.
One of the ingredients that intrigued readers and film viewers but irritated many Christians, especially Catholics, was the focus on the Catholic Church, especially in Angels and Demons. This is not a Catholic story – though there is plenty of an atmosphere of Catholicism with settings in Florence, St Mark’s in Venice – and a Muslim touch with finding an Italian buried in Hagia Sophia.
This time the code belongs to Dante and the Inferno of the title is his – although, the villain of the piece who dies at the beginning of the film!,intends to create and Inferno of death by infection, the purging of half the human race, allegedly for its betterment because of overpopulation and the demand on resources.
This villain, seen in flashbacks, is Zobrist, played by Ben foster, a millionaire who is obsessed by overpopulation and is developing a virulent infection attack for his purposes.
Powers that be from the World Health Organisation come to Robert Langdon, familiar with his Da Vinci and Angels and Demons success, to decipher some illustrations on human bone which will lead to the discovery of where the potential plague is stored and how it will be let loose on the world.
This is the third time that Tom Hanks has played Robert Langdon so he is obviously at ease in the role. But, as the film opens, he is not at ease because he has been injected with drugs, injured, abducted, landing in hospital under the care of Dr Sienna Brooks, played by Felicity Jones (who must have been eager to take on the role after reading the screenplay and its complexities). For most of the film, Sienna and Robert Langdon are on the run, trying to evade pursuit by a murderous policewoman, an African (Omar Sy) who may or may not be their friend, a strange expert in faking elaborate scenarios (Irrfan Khan) and the WHO, led by Elizabeth (Sidse Babett Knudsen). In case we were ever wondering about Robert Langdon and his past and his relationships, the screenplay creates a past with Elizabeth.
And the code to decipher? We are shown Botticelli’s painting of Dante’s Inferno on which some letters have been inserted, leading the searching couple to the museum in Florence, contemplating paintings, looking for the death mask of Dante himself, more pursuit which leads the couple to the roof above the painting galleries (and someone crashing through the roof and devastating a classic painting). Escape from the museum leads to the baptistery in Florence, the finding of the mask, and some instructions (from whom and for what reason!) they find by scraping the back of the mask.
On the train through the Italian countryside, on to Venice, St Marks, some surprising revelations of what has happened and then on to Istanbul. All this very attractive for those who have been there that – and attractive for those who haven’t.
As with the other stories, all this happens very fast, packing an enormous amount of activity and travel into one day, for a grand climax and Robert Langdon saving the world yet again.
Someone remarked that the film is quite close to the book – which might satisfy the legion of Dan Brown fans and provide some pop entertainment for those who aren’t.
1. The popularity of Dan Brown novels and films? Conspiracy theories? Codes and decoding? The thriller style, characters, plot complications?
2. The title, the apocalyptic tone, diabolical? Plague, reducing world population for its own benefit?
3. Dr Robert Langdon, the pattern of his investigations, dangers, codes, decoding, pressed for time, betrayals?
4. The settings in Florence, Venice, train through the countryside, Istanbul? Scenic? Dramatic? The musical score?
5. The focus on Dante, his Inferno, the Botticelli painting? The Florence museums, paintings, the mask of Dante, the Eyes of Death, the baptistery in Florence, the horses outside St Marks in Venice, the tomb in Hagia Sophia, the underground waters, system, pillars?
6. The opening credits? The presence of Zobrist, his talk, lectures, videos, the millionaire, his ideas about population, reducing the population, reconstruction in pain? His being pursued by Bruder? Confrontation, his fall and death? His appearances in the flashbacks, developing his ideas, the fanaticism, his relationship with Sienna, the clothes in her apartment? His urging her to fulfil his destiny?
7. Robert Langdon, the injury, his amnesia, going to the hospital, the blurred flashbacks, Sienna and her work as a doctor, his wound, her personality, clever, aged 9 and meeting him? Tending him, his recovering, bewildered? The policewoman in the hospital – and the audience later discovering this was all staged? Sienna escaping with him, her apartment, ringing the Consul, on the run, the police pursuit, the taxi, his bleeding? His looking at his emails and the information from Ignazio?
8. Going to the museum, contemplating the pictures, the message: cerca and trova, the missing mask, the video of his taking it, the Eyes of Death, going to the baptistery, finding the mask, the message on the back of the mask and the leads? His memories, the approach by Bruder, by Elizabeth? Bruder and Elizabeth and their collaboration, the pursuit? The escape in the museum, Langdon and Sienna going to the roof, the policewoman pursuing, Sienna falling, their getting through the exit, the protest march? Going to the baptistery, recovering the mask?
9. Harry Sims, his character, his company, security, being able to arrange fake scenarios? His working for Zobrist? Motivations? The collaboration with Elizabeth? The pursuit?
10. The trip to Venice, the decapitation of the horses and the explanation, the train ride to Venice, Robert and his flashbacks, memories of discussions with Elizabeth? Under St Marks, the hundred euros to remove the grate? Sienna trapping Robert? The revelation of the truth? Flashbacks of Sienna’s collaboration with Zobrist?
11. Elizabeth, Sims, the explanations, Robert regaining his memory, the doorway, the injection, his abduction? His being given the bone code with its messages?
12. Going to Istanbul, the visit to Hagia Sophia, the tomb of the man who beheaded the horses? Hearing the underground water, going to the cistern, the huge pillars, the concert and the guests, the orchestra?
13. The buildup to the confrontation, the fights, the timing, the recovery of the container with the bacteria? The confrontation with Sienna? The situation being saved?
14. The light touch of the end with Robert returning the mask to the museum?
