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Lathe of Heaven (2001)
A&E Video // Unrated // October 29, 2002
List Price: $19.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
"To sleep, perchance to dream; ay, there's the rub..." Shakespeare's Hamlet was wary of the world of dreaming, that nighttime universe where the conscious mind lets go and the unconscious comes to life. On waking, our dreams slip away, insubstantial compared to the world of reality. But what if our dreams could change that reality? Not in the wishful-thinking sense of "dreaming" of a sudden windfall of cash or a vacation, but in the profounder sense of the uncontrollable play of the mind. Imagine having reality change each day, based on dreams that you cannot predict or control. It would be a frightening thing indeed... which is precisely what leads young George Orr to drug himself night after night in a frantic and futile attempt to suppress his own dreams, because those dreams change reality for everyone. A science fiction film in the best sense of the term, Lathe of Heaven explores this fascinating "what if" about the nature of reality itself.
Lathe of Heaven is based on the novel of the same name by award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin, and in fact this production is the second version of the novel, the first being a 1980 miniseries. From the very beginning, Lathe of Heaven draws us into a strange and fascinating future world, anchored in place by George himself (played sympathetically by Lukas Haas) and his one friend in the world, the unconventional and slightly mysterious Mannie (David Strathairn). Mysterious elements are mixed into the story at a perfect concentration: enough to be interesting and to make me wonder what was going on, but never so many as to be confusing. The film is very well-paced, moving swiftly on from one development to the next, but never feeling rushed.
There are no special visual effects at all, which may surprise viewers who are accustomed to the style of the typical science-fiction summer blockbuster, but the truth is that Lathe of Heaven has no special effects for the simple reason that it needs none, focusing as it does on the psychology of the characters. What it does have is exactly the visual support it needs: architecture, clothing, outdoor scenes, and interior sets alike all work perfectly to support the film's premise, showing the signs of attention to every detail. Lathe of Heaven, in fact, compares favorably to feature films in terms of the quality of cast, overall craftsmanship, and visual polish, though it's actually a television production.
As I mentioned, Lathe of Heaven is based on the 1971 novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, an author whose work I admire and have read a great deal of, including The Lathe of Heaven itself. As a reader, I tend to appreciate films that are very faithful to the novels they are based on; but as a film viewer, I appreciate films that successfully adapt their material to a new medium, whether that means being literally faithful to the text or not. I've seen plenty of adaptations that failed precisely because they attempted to bring the source to the screen word-for-word and scene-for-scene, without taking into account the different strengths and weaknesses of the mediums of text and film.
All of this is a lead-in to the fact that Lathe of Heaven departs significantly from the original novel. Director Philip Haas and screenplay writer Alan Sharp have chosen to focus on the central idea of George's dreams changing reality, and its effect on the characters, whereas the original novel uses the "what if" of George Orr's dreams to explore humankind's search for utopia: Dr. Haber immediately catches on to George's ability and forces him to dream again and again of "new and improved" realities that nonetheless always contain a fatal flaw. Rather than addressing the philosophical issues raised in the novel, the 2001 film version highlights the mystery of George's ability and what it means to himself and those around him.
The film plays to its own strengths as a medium: much of the information about how the story is developing is presented not through dialogue or action, but through subtle changes in the environment: details of hair styles, clothing, architecture, and even the weather are all indicative of George's current reality, as is the chronology of the story, which reflects the fact that his dreams don't just change the future or the present, but actually retroactively rewrite reality.
The film version of Lathe of Heaven is significantly more open-ended than the novel, with several different interpretations of events tantalizingly suggested but not forced on the viewer. Dr. Haber becomes an ambiguous character: in the book he is consciously manipulating George, but in the film it's suggested that his handling of George's dreams may be unconsciously motivated; this is, incidentally, much more consistent with the overall premise than the way it's handled in the novel. The film's conclusion is also very open-ended. In fact, I wished for the ending to have just a touch more closure than it did, but it's clear that the ambiguity is intentional, and effective, wholly leaving the interpretation of the film's events up to the viewer. It's a movie that sets the mind working and then, at the end, sets it free to draw its own conclusions, with several different possibilities each tantalizingly supported by some elements of the film.
Viewers who saw Lathe of Heaven in its original U.S. broadcast will be interested to know that the DVD version is the full international version of the film, restoring approximately 15 minutes of footage cut for the U.S. television broadcast.
Video
Lathe of Heaven is presented in a 1.66:1 widescreen transfer that, disappointingly, is not anamorphically enhanced. There's some edge enhancement visible, and a touch of grain in a few scenes, but on the whole it's a good-looking image. Colors in particular look very good, which is important in this film, in which the visual elements of the story are so important; in both outdoor and indoor scenes, colors are bright, vibrant, and well-defined. The print is also nice and clean, free of noise or flaws.
Audio
The soundtrack of Lathe of Heaven is one of the better Dolby 2.0 tracks I've heard, with a nice depth of sound to it. Dialogue is clear, even when the characters are speaking softly, and the music portion of the track is both well-done and nicely balanced with the other elements of the soundtrack.
Extras
A few minor special features are included on the DVD. There's a 25-minute "making of" featurette that's fairly pointless, being a promotional-style piece that was filmed only about halfway through the production. We also get a section of biographies and filmographies of Ursula K. Le Guin and the principal actors.
It's curious to note that both the blurb on the back of the DVD and the promotional material at the start of the featurette summarize the plot more of the novel than of the actual film. I would encourage viewers to not pay too much attention to this, and instead focus on watching the film for itself.
Final thoughts
One of the most thought-provoking and memorable films I've seen in quite a while, Lathe of Heaven demands active engagement from the viewer, and rewards the attentive audience with a nuanced and fascinating story, though fans of the book or the earlier miniseries will need to set aside their preconceptions about what the film "should" be like before watching it. I was intrigued from beginning to end, and found the film sticking in my mind well after I'd finished watching it; it's highly recommended.
Lathe of Heaven is based on the novel of the same name by award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin, and in fact this production is the second version of the novel, the first being a 1980 miniseries. From the very beginning, Lathe of Heaven draws us into a strange and fascinating future world, anchored in place by George himself (played sympathetically by Lukas Haas) and his one friend in the world, the unconventional and slightly mysterious Mannie (David Strathairn). Mysterious elements are mixed into the story at a perfect concentration: enough to be interesting and to make me wonder what was going on, but never so many as to be confusing. The film is very well-paced, moving swiftly on from one development to the next, but never feeling rushed.
There are no special visual effects at all, which may surprise viewers who are accustomed to the style of the typical science-fiction summer blockbuster, but the truth is that Lathe of Heaven has no special effects for the simple reason that it needs none, focusing as it does on the psychology of the characters. What it does have is exactly the visual support it needs: architecture, clothing, outdoor scenes, and interior sets alike all work perfectly to support the film's premise, showing the signs of attention to every detail. Lathe of Heaven, in fact, compares favorably to feature films in terms of the quality of cast, overall craftsmanship, and visual polish, though it's actually a television production.
As I mentioned, Lathe of Heaven is based on the 1971 novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, an author whose work I admire and have read a great deal of, including The Lathe of Heaven itself. As a reader, I tend to appreciate films that are very faithful to the novels they are based on; but as a film viewer, I appreciate films that successfully adapt their material to a new medium, whether that means being literally faithful to the text or not. I've seen plenty of adaptations that failed precisely because they attempted to bring the source to the screen word-for-word and scene-for-scene, without taking into account the different strengths and weaknesses of the mediums of text and film.
All of this is a lead-in to the fact that Lathe of Heaven departs significantly from the original novel. Director Philip Haas and screenplay writer Alan Sharp have chosen to focus on the central idea of George's dreams changing reality, and its effect on the characters, whereas the original novel uses the "what if" of George Orr's dreams to explore humankind's search for utopia: Dr. Haber immediately catches on to George's ability and forces him to dream again and again of "new and improved" realities that nonetheless always contain a fatal flaw. Rather than addressing the philosophical issues raised in the novel, the 2001 film version highlights the mystery of George's ability and what it means to himself and those around him.
The film plays to its own strengths as a medium: much of the information about how the story is developing is presented not through dialogue or action, but through subtle changes in the environment: details of hair styles, clothing, architecture, and even the weather are all indicative of George's current reality, as is the chronology of the story, which reflects the fact that his dreams don't just change the future or the present, but actually retroactively rewrite reality.
The film version of Lathe of Heaven is significantly more open-ended than the novel, with several different interpretations of events tantalizingly suggested but not forced on the viewer. Dr. Haber becomes an ambiguous character: in the book he is consciously manipulating George, but in the film it's suggested that his handling of George's dreams may be unconsciously motivated; this is, incidentally, much more consistent with the overall premise than the way it's handled in the novel. The film's conclusion is also very open-ended. In fact, I wished for the ending to have just a touch more closure than it did, but it's clear that the ambiguity is intentional, and effective, wholly leaving the interpretation of the film's events up to the viewer. It's a movie that sets the mind working and then, at the end, sets it free to draw its own conclusions, with several different possibilities each tantalizingly supported by some elements of the film.
Viewers who saw Lathe of Heaven in its original U.S. broadcast will be interested to know that the DVD version is the full international version of the film, restoring approximately 15 minutes of footage cut for the U.S. television broadcast.
Video
Lathe of Heaven is presented in a 1.66:1 widescreen transfer that, disappointingly, is not anamorphically enhanced. There's some edge enhancement visible, and a touch of grain in a few scenes, but on the whole it's a good-looking image. Colors in particular look very good, which is important in this film, in which the visual elements of the story are so important; in both outdoor and indoor scenes, colors are bright, vibrant, and well-defined. The print is also nice and clean, free of noise or flaws.
Audio
The soundtrack of Lathe of Heaven is one of the better Dolby 2.0 tracks I've heard, with a nice depth of sound to it. Dialogue is clear, even when the characters are speaking softly, and the music portion of the track is both well-done and nicely balanced with the other elements of the soundtrack.
Extras
A few minor special features are included on the DVD. There's a 25-minute "making of" featurette that's fairly pointless, being a promotional-style piece that was filmed only about halfway through the production. We also get a section of biographies and filmographies of Ursula K. Le Guin and the principal actors.
It's curious to note that both the blurb on the back of the DVD and the promotional material at the start of the featurette summarize the plot more of the novel than of the actual film. I would encourage viewers to not pay too much attention to this, and instead focus on watching the film for itself.
Final thoughts
One of the most thought-provoking and memorable films I've seen in quite a while, Lathe of Heaven demands active engagement from the viewer, and rewards the attentive audience with a nuanced and fascinating story, though fans of the book or the earlier miniseries will need to set aside their preconceptions about what the film "should" be like before watching it. I was intrigued from beginning to end, and found the film sticking in my mind well after I'd finished watching it; it's highly recommended.
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