I very much wanted to like this classic adventure, but it's surprisingly tedious until the last 15 minutes or so. On paper, it looks good -- the concept, story, and casting all seem fine. But the execution is missing something. Is it the one-dimensional characters? That's to be expected for a comic-book story. Is it the pacing? Well, the editing isn't exactly crisp, but there is sufficient story action.
I think it's believability, oddly enough. Billy Zane tries to play The Phantom with a rogue-ish charm, but it doesn't come off as charming -- it's more like he's just not taking things seriously. The Phantom never seems convincingly worried about anything; it's as if the muscles, costume, and boyish grin are all that's required. Treat Williams' villain is no better; he's similarly full of himself. This lack-of-grit quickly gets tiresome. Even Kristy Swanson, who was GREAT in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, seems to be phoning it in. What happened here?
I appreciated Catherine Zeta-Jones and Patrick McGoohan, who both stood out in terms of stage presence. Unfortunately, they're both minor characters, so this doesn't help much.
I give this four (4) stars.
DRIFTING OFF-TOPIC (for most, not all)
{Welcome to my Under the Silver Lake (UTSL) distributed essay. This is Part 4. Part 3 was attached to my review of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.}
Under the Silver Lake (2018) is a strange film with an unsolved (audience) puzzle that references dozens of other films, often in very subtle ways. Exactly HOW related The Phantom is (to UTSL) largely depends on how certain (taxidermy) clues are interpreted, but we'll get to that.
There is a path from (something in) the Bar-Buddy-backyard (drone) scene to actor Patrick McGoohan, who plays "Phantom's Dad".
There's also a concise (but non-obvious) path from one of the nine "primary" clues below to actor Treat Williams. It's VERY intentional (and clever).
Crypt Bar Actresses (Brigitte Helm, Grace Kelly, Elsa Lancaster).
Doll Actresses (Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe).
Zodiac Clues (ENTRIES, SHERRIFF, TOMBSTONE).
In addition, Billy Zane was in the movie Tombstone (1993), which would seem to relate to the matching Zodiac clue above. There's even a separate path to The Phantom (read on).
In Comic-Man's house, there is a large old-timey radio with a doll's head on top. This represents the band Radiohead. If you look up the lyrics to The Numbers (from the album A Moon Shaped Pool), you'll find that the first line is "It holds us like a phantom."
If you consider that Patrick McGoohan was (rather famously) in Ice Station Zebra, this could explain the Polar Bear and the Zebra in The Songwriter's house. The wolf could represent The Phantom's pet wolf ("Devil"). While this is all very neat, there ARE alternative explanations for at least two of these animals. So there's presently a little uncertainty here ... at least in my mind.
The obvious question is whether this "path" (aka rabbit hole) is ultimately about Treat Williams (and one of his other films), The Phantom itself (as a name, concept or symbol), or someone *else* who was in The Phantom (e.g., Patrick McGoohan, Kristy Swanson, Catherine Zeta-Jones). I'll leave this as "an exercise for the student". Plus, I'm actually not sure; I presently only have two of the three puzzle words decoded. However, my working theory is that there are multiple "fan-outs" here (i.e., at least two paths), and this could explain the heavy emphasis on this movie; the three stuffed animals ARE a bit *dramatic* as far as clues go.
SEMI-RANDOM HINT
Solving the puzzle requires more than perception; discipline and organizational skills are important. I keep copious notes in various text files. The intermediate goal should be to partition the clues into three "blobs", each to be represented by an (unavoidably wordy) text file subdivided into a dozen or more micro-chapters. In other words, if you can't write an essay justifying your reasoning, you probably don't have the correct answer(s). However, it is VERY difficult to partition the blobs correctly. Even associating the primary (Crypt Bar/Doll/Zodiac) clues with the blobs is non-trivial, as there are some potentially confusing overlaps and other issues. Until you are able to start solving the puzzle (which theoretically requires at LEAST one robust blob), you often don't know what's important and what isn't -- so the blobs can get rather large and unwieldy.
As I learned more (and recovered from various false starts), I've had to repartition the blobs several times -- each time was an improvement. The maintenance overhead is substantial, but so is the payoff. Soft copies are essential; moving micro-chapters by simple cut-and-paste is great; the reason it's time-consuming is that it's difficult to organize and track all the details when you can barely see where you're going. The difficulty is compounded by the ever-shifting mental environment (i.e., constantly learning more and developing new theories and context).
The good news is that each blob has one or more recognizable themes, which are helpful for both partitioning and clue interpretation. However, these themes are NOT puzzle answers, which are more like ... obscure technicalities, and are thus well-hidden. However, there are multiple paths to each answer, which helps compensate for the heavy obfuscation.
If this sounds rather daunting and time-consuming, well, IT IS -- so I'm writing this giant essay to explain the basics, provide interesting hints, and save people time. Perhaps you won't need to develop blobs at all, or you'll be able to get by with simpler versions. It's hard to say.
In any case, what's amazing to me is that there ARE answer-verification mechanisms (of a sort) present in UTSL, although they increase overall puzzle complexity. This means that a CORRECT answer may generate an emotional reaction that's a combination of euphoria ("Eureka!") and a face-palm ("D'oh -- of course!). However, these mechanisms are somewhat advanced in the sense that you're unlikely to notice and/or appreciate them without finishing a blob (and generating a correct puzzle word). Now, you may be wondering whether these mechanisms can be "gamed" (i.e., used to help determine the remaining puzzle words). To a VERY limited/localized degree, yes, but generally ... NO, sorry.
There are two answer-verification mechanisms. One tends to be degraded if you haven't traced every path to an answer. I have experienced this firsthand (read on).
I obtained one puzzle answer "properly" and got the full "Eureka!" effect (I felt great for a day). But the second answer was more difficult to verify, and was therefore less satisfying. The reason was that I hadn't followed two of the other paths -- I wasn't even aware of them. One path involved the two "sub-puzzles" mentioned in a previous installment. The other involved the movie Soapdish. In other words, even though the (puzzle-answer-adjacent) word(s) these paths provide isn't/aren't unique (I already had it/them), the *context* provided IS unique -- and relevant.
BTW, regarding the two sub-puzzles, the Coneheads aspect I previously mentioned is unrelated to answer-verification.
BIG HINT: Two of the Zodiac clues are well-behaved (i.e., they're blob-specific). However, please be aware that the Zodiac clues are quite esoteric in nature. In other words, they may not mean what you *think* they mean. Do NOT underestimate their subtlety.
BIGGER HINT: You CAN partition blobs with the "Doll" and "Crypt Bar" actress clues above; these don't get you far by themselves, but at least they're reasonably well-behaved (i.e., minimal overlap). You can even name the blobs along such lines.
BIGGEST HINT: The (effectively FIVE) "Animal" symbols in the very beginning of UTSL do work as blob-partition guidance. These animals are Unicorn, Tiger, Snake/Cobra, and Lion. Two blobs get only one* each, and one blob gets THREE. I'll be generous and just tell you that it's Marilyn Monroe / SHERIFF / Cobra & Lion* & Tiger. Your first task should be to figure out which Crypt Bar Actress is relevant to this blob (it's actually not difficult). Then start diving into rabbit holes and see where they lead. As you build up your "blob knowledge" you'll start seeing patterns. Have fun.
* There is possibly another Lion "hit" in another (ostensibly single-animal) blob, but IMHO that's incidental by comparison.
FOR MORE ABOUT UTSL PUZZLE CLUES
See my (8-star) review of Soapdish.
I think it's believability, oddly enough. Billy Zane tries to play The Phantom with a rogue-ish charm, but it doesn't come off as charming -- it's more like he's just not taking things seriously. The Phantom never seems convincingly worried about anything; it's as if the muscles, costume, and boyish grin are all that's required. Treat Williams' villain is no better; he's similarly full of himself. This lack-of-grit quickly gets tiresome. Even Kristy Swanson, who was GREAT in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, seems to be phoning it in. What happened here?
I appreciated Catherine Zeta-Jones and Patrick McGoohan, who both stood out in terms of stage presence. Unfortunately, they're both minor characters, so this doesn't help much.
I give this four (4) stars.
DRIFTING OFF-TOPIC (for most, not all)
{Welcome to my Under the Silver Lake (UTSL) distributed essay. This is Part 4. Part 3 was attached to my review of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.}
Under the Silver Lake (2018) is a strange film with an unsolved (audience) puzzle that references dozens of other films, often in very subtle ways. Exactly HOW related The Phantom is (to UTSL) largely depends on how certain (taxidermy) clues are interpreted, but we'll get to that.
There is a path from (something in) the Bar-Buddy-backyard (drone) scene to actor Patrick McGoohan, who plays "Phantom's Dad".
There's also a concise (but non-obvious) path from one of the nine "primary" clues below to actor Treat Williams. It's VERY intentional (and clever).
Crypt Bar Actresses (Brigitte Helm, Grace Kelly, Elsa Lancaster).
Doll Actresses (Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe).
Zodiac Clues (ENTRIES, SHERRIFF, TOMBSTONE).
In addition, Billy Zane was in the movie Tombstone (1993), which would seem to relate to the matching Zodiac clue above. There's even a separate path to The Phantom (read on).
In Comic-Man's house, there is a large old-timey radio with a doll's head on top. This represents the band Radiohead. If you look up the lyrics to The Numbers (from the album A Moon Shaped Pool), you'll find that the first line is "It holds us like a phantom."
If you consider that Patrick McGoohan was (rather famously) in Ice Station Zebra, this could explain the Polar Bear and the Zebra in The Songwriter's house. The wolf could represent The Phantom's pet wolf ("Devil"). While this is all very neat, there ARE alternative explanations for at least two of these animals. So there's presently a little uncertainty here ... at least in my mind.
The obvious question is whether this "path" (aka rabbit hole) is ultimately about Treat Williams (and one of his other films), The Phantom itself (as a name, concept or symbol), or someone *else* who was in The Phantom (e.g., Patrick McGoohan, Kristy Swanson, Catherine Zeta-Jones). I'll leave this as "an exercise for the student". Plus, I'm actually not sure; I presently only have two of the three puzzle words decoded. However, my working theory is that there are multiple "fan-outs" here (i.e., at least two paths), and this could explain the heavy emphasis on this movie; the three stuffed animals ARE a bit *dramatic* as far as clues go.
SEMI-RANDOM HINT
Solving the puzzle requires more than perception; discipline and organizational skills are important. I keep copious notes in various text files. The intermediate goal should be to partition the clues into three "blobs", each to be represented by an (unavoidably wordy) text file subdivided into a dozen or more micro-chapters. In other words, if you can't write an essay justifying your reasoning, you probably don't have the correct answer(s). However, it is VERY difficult to partition the blobs correctly. Even associating the primary (Crypt Bar/Doll/Zodiac) clues with the blobs is non-trivial, as there are some potentially confusing overlaps and other issues. Until you are able to start solving the puzzle (which theoretically requires at LEAST one robust blob), you often don't know what's important and what isn't -- so the blobs can get rather large and unwieldy.
As I learned more (and recovered from various false starts), I've had to repartition the blobs several times -- each time was an improvement. The maintenance overhead is substantial, but so is the payoff. Soft copies are essential; moving micro-chapters by simple cut-and-paste is great; the reason it's time-consuming is that it's difficult to organize and track all the details when you can barely see where you're going. The difficulty is compounded by the ever-shifting mental environment (i.e., constantly learning more and developing new theories and context).
The good news is that each blob has one or more recognizable themes, which are helpful for both partitioning and clue interpretation. However, these themes are NOT puzzle answers, which are more like ... obscure technicalities, and are thus well-hidden. However, there are multiple paths to each answer, which helps compensate for the heavy obfuscation.
If this sounds rather daunting and time-consuming, well, IT IS -- so I'm writing this giant essay to explain the basics, provide interesting hints, and save people time. Perhaps you won't need to develop blobs at all, or you'll be able to get by with simpler versions. It's hard to say.
In any case, what's amazing to me is that there ARE answer-verification mechanisms (of a sort) present in UTSL, although they increase overall puzzle complexity. This means that a CORRECT answer may generate an emotional reaction that's a combination of euphoria ("Eureka!") and a face-palm ("D'oh -- of course!). However, these mechanisms are somewhat advanced in the sense that you're unlikely to notice and/or appreciate them without finishing a blob (and generating a correct puzzle word). Now, you may be wondering whether these mechanisms can be "gamed" (i.e., used to help determine the remaining puzzle words). To a VERY limited/localized degree, yes, but generally ... NO, sorry.
There are two answer-verification mechanisms. One tends to be degraded if you haven't traced every path to an answer. I have experienced this firsthand (read on).
I obtained one puzzle answer "properly" and got the full "Eureka!" effect (I felt great for a day). But the second answer was more difficult to verify, and was therefore less satisfying. The reason was that I hadn't followed two of the other paths -- I wasn't even aware of them. One path involved the two "sub-puzzles" mentioned in a previous installment. The other involved the movie Soapdish. In other words, even though the (puzzle-answer-adjacent) word(s) these paths provide isn't/aren't unique (I already had it/them), the *context* provided IS unique -- and relevant.
BTW, regarding the two sub-puzzles, the Coneheads aspect I previously mentioned is unrelated to answer-verification.
BIG HINT: Two of the Zodiac clues are well-behaved (i.e., they're blob-specific). However, please be aware that the Zodiac clues are quite esoteric in nature. In other words, they may not mean what you *think* they mean. Do NOT underestimate their subtlety.
BIGGER HINT: You CAN partition blobs with the "Doll" and "Crypt Bar" actress clues above; these don't get you far by themselves, but at least they're reasonably well-behaved (i.e., minimal overlap). You can even name the blobs along such lines.
BIGGEST HINT: The (effectively FIVE) "Animal" symbols in the very beginning of UTSL do work as blob-partition guidance. These animals are Unicorn, Tiger, Snake/Cobra, and Lion. Two blobs get only one* each, and one blob gets THREE. I'll be generous and just tell you that it's Marilyn Monroe / SHERIFF / Cobra & Lion* & Tiger. Your first task should be to figure out which Crypt Bar Actress is relevant to this blob (it's actually not difficult). Then start diving into rabbit holes and see where they lead. As you build up your "blob knowledge" you'll start seeing patterns. Have fun.
* There is possibly another Lion "hit" in another (ostensibly single-animal) blob, but IMHO that's incidental by comparison.
FOR MORE ABOUT UTSL PUZZLE CLUES
See my (8-star) review of Soapdish.