The movie Looper – the hidden meaning
Looper (2012), a fantastic action movie co-produced by the USA and China, is a film that leaves a strong impression, but each viewer perceives it differently. Positive criticism, great acting from the stars, emotionally strong scenes – the pros clearly outweigh some of the weaknesses in the script. However, the inconsistencies in the script are a controversial issue, perhaps the ardent opponents simply did not grasp the essence of the plan.
Story by Ryan Johnson
Director Ryan Johnson, who is also the scriptwriter, presented his version of chrono-fantasy to the attention of the audience.
2044 – Times of Lawlessness
The middle of the XXI century appears on the screen as a rather gloomy time: devastation, poverty, cruelty. Crime on the streets of the city is a common thing, residents are armed and easily shoot even petty thieves.
Kansas 2044
Making money in such conditions is not easy. The protagonist Joe Simmons and his buddies work as loopers. In other words, they are killers. Nothing personal, the guys do their job without emotion according to the contract.
The contract must be fulfilled
Looper boss old Abe is thrown into Kansas from the future. Under his leadership, a strong and numerous organization functions, the management of Abe’s iron hand guarantees order and the fulfillment of the terms of the contract by the parties.
In 2074, the advancement of technology led the mafia to some difficulty: the murder became impossible to hide. The illegal use of the time machine solved the problem. Now the bandits began to hire killers in the past and send sentenced people to 2044. There, at the agreed time, the killer meets the victim with a bag on his head and carries out the order with one shot.
Looper client
Close the loop of time
One of the points of the agreement is the requirement to close the loop at the right time. Once he himself is sent the Looper as an object, only at the age of +30. This kill is paid for in gold, after which the contract is closed. The former killer has thirty years of free life ahead of him with a pre-known ending.
However, not every Looper manages to dispassionately fulfill the last order. Sometimes even hired killers get on their nerves, and then Abe steps in with his gang of thugs.
Time paradoxes
When it’s Joe’s turn to close the loop, viewers see two storylines at once in the development of his life. Who knows which one is true and which is just a temporary paradox?
After shooting himself in cold blood, Joe closes his contract and travels to China. For the next three decades he lives in Shanghai. Reckless living and drug cravings lead to the fact that money quickly runs out. The hero again joins the ranks of criminals, murder for him has long been a habitual way of earning money. 23 years later, Joe meets a charming Chinese woman who saves him from drugs and becomes his beloved wife.
Joe’s family happiness
But the allotted time is quickly coming to an end. When bandits come for an aged Joe, they kill his wife. The hero decides to go to the past.
The young Looper this time fails to shoot his old copy played by Bruce Willis. Conscientious hitman Joe intends to correct this omission. Of course, both heroes are ruthlessly pursued by Abe’s men.
Finding the Shaman
Old Joe is sure that the Shaman, the main mafioso from 2074, is to blame for the death of his wife. The hero sets out to kill the Shaman in the past in order to change the future. Little is known about the Shaman, in 2044 he is still a child. Joe calculates three possible candidates and proceeds to eliminate them. The fact that these are innocent children does not stop a professional murderer.
Which of the guys is actually the future Shaman? Can Joe change the future and save his love?
Main scenes
Several emotionally powerful scenes from the film set the mood and help to understand the director’s intention.
Betrayal for 30 pieces of silver
There comes a moment when his colleague Seth knocks on Joe’s apartment and asks for help in a panic. The guy “let down the noose”: he recognized himself in the victim and, in confusion, allowed old Seth to flee. Now Abe’s fighters are immediately chasing after him in two reincarnations. Joe first allows his friend to hide in a cache, but after a reasoned “request” Abe hands over the poor fellow to the murderers.
Abe is good at persuading
Are you ready to give up your silver to save a friend’s life? The question is rhetorical.
Talking to yourself
The meeting of two characters at the same time in Beatrix’s cafe: Joe, young and old, is an interesting episode. With the luggage of 30 extra years lived, elderly Joe is trying to explain something to himself, a limited youth. And he fails: Joe-1 is not ready to hear him, he wants to save his life.
Talking to yourself
And yet the thesis that life is just one of the many possibilities is not at all devoid of meaning.
An unexpected ending
Joe will see a mother who gave her life to save her only son, as well as a man who is ready to kill anyone for his love. Something will change in his mind, at this moment the hero will understand what needs to be done in order to break the endless loop. An unexpected and dramatic ending of the film awaits the audience.
This path turned out to be a loop without end and beginning, and then I tore it.
Interesting Facts
- The performers of the main role of Joe in real life are not so similar, but the make-up artists really did their best. Complex makeup was applied for 3 hours daily. As a result, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the character of Bruce Willis quite convincingly in his youth.
- About $ 30 million was spent on filming, which is quite a bit. No stunning technical innovations from the world of the future are presented, and the time machine works super-simply. At the same time, a simple approach does not reduce the psychological intensity, the surroundings correspond to the plot.
- The main character got the name Joe for a reason. The lead role was originally written for Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
The meaning of the plot
In the process of viewing, the main question arises: is time and everything that happens to us – the only possible reality?
Ryan Johnson’s point of view seems to be clear enough. Timeline variability is possible. Any actions in the present lead to the emergence of alternative versions of the future. And what it will be is still unknown.
