Movie Review: Deja Vu

Have you ever had that creepy feeling that you have been somewhere before, but you have never actually been there? Ever have that close connection to someone—like you have known them forever, but you just met them? All of these circumstances are just a few signs of Deja Vu. We all have them.

"I think we all have had the feeling that we have been somewhere before—I've had it too," admits Denzel Washington. "I used to have this dream about a particular place in Brooklyn, and then one day I went there, and I couldn't help but feel like I had been there before. It's one of those big mysteries in life that I think everyone wants to get to the bottom of."

ATF agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) wades through evidence after a New Orleans ferry explodes, killing hundreds of men, women and children. What Carlin doesn't know yet—or at least he doesn't know that he knows that he doesn't know—is the fact that he is about to embark on one of science's greatest journeys.

As Carlin’s investigation deepens, it not only probes through the very fabric of space and time, but becomes an innovative love story that unfolds in reverse when Carlin discovers his puzzling emotional connection to a woman (Paula Patton) whose past holds the key to stopping a catastrophe that could destroy their future. In the split second of a glance, without words yet with complete trust, Carlin takes one chance to change everything.

Does this sound like a movie packed with action, thrills, scientific jargon, unexpected humor and treacherous romantic attraction? Well...that's probably because it is. Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott effectively create a vision of nail-biting suspense and possibilities.

The science behind the plotline isn't as far-fetched as one might think. Dr. Brian Greene, an expert on String Theory and a professor of physics at Columbia University, was thoroughly consulted during the research for this film. Dr. Greene explained to them that we live in a world in which we are not always aware of the tricks our minds play on us when it comes to the medium of time. For example, he noted that when you look at yourself in a mirror that is 8 feet away, you might think you’re seeing yourself right now, but you are actually looking at yourself as you existed 16 nanoseconds ago! (That 16 nanoseconds is the time it takes for light to reflect off your face at the mirror and come back.) So, in a sense, you are actually looking into the past. How's that for mind-blowing?

Article Author: Jenna Bensoussan

Jenna is a writer, editor and publicity consultant. She runs ACED Magazine, DanRadcliffe.com, has an unquenchable obsession with music, and consumes more caffeine than any human should be permitted to consume without turning into a tall beverage.

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