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DECONSTRUCTION
(Westlake Enterprises/Random Film, 2006)
Starring John Isles as Chinon and Tanya Ni Mhuirthile as Nessa.
Editing and Special Effects by Kevin Hiley.
Written and Directed by Tim Reid.
Running time: 22 minutes.
Westlake Productions has a ten-year history of enjoyable fan films, both in and out of the DOCTOR WHO genre, including the popular FUTURE INVESTMENT with Kevin Hiley as the Doctor. The Westlake films have always been well mounted with a certain technical polish, but nothing in their canon will prepare you for the quantum leap forward represented by DECONSTRUCTION.
Simply put, DECONSTRUCTION looks and feels nothing like a fan film. It is so lushly photographed, so creatively edited, so skillfully produced that it looks absolutely professional. And while the film may not be utterly perfect, the filmmaking is so assured and joyful that any nitpicks are cast aside as the film hooks you into its world. DECONSTRUCTION is frankly mesmerizing.
The story itself is quite simple: on a remote asteroid, a construction crew is suddenly attacked by a cadre of Cybermen that has only just been summoned from their entombment (it is somewhat unclear whether this was pre-planned, or whether the work crew blundered upon them – many such aspects of the story are kept purposely vague so that we share the protagonist’s disorientation). The only apparent survivor is Chinon Pelder, superbly played by John Isles. (The last name “Pelder” is an obvious tribute to Cybermen co-creator Kit Pelder, while the other co-creator, Gerry Davis, is name-checked via the fact that Chinon works for “Davis Construction.”) Chinon, a blue-level grunt, is dazed and frightened. He makes his way into the command center and finds it overrun by the cyborgs. Injured by a close encounter with a Cyberman, Chinon experiences flashbacks to happier times on Earth with his pretty wife (Tanya Ni Mhuirthile), and soon learns the true goal of the Cybermen.
DECONSTRUCTION is significant because it is highly cinematic, in a way that few fan films are. Writer/director Tim Reid, in collaboration with editor/sfx maestro Kevin Hiley, makes cunning use of montage, slow motion, and sleek editing techniques to propel the narrative. There is virtually no dialogue (and, even though it’s a small point, I think it’s impressive that Reid didn’t slavishly eliminate ALL the dialogue; having Chinon briefly call for help over his radio early in the film makes perfect sense, and makes the rest of the non-speaking seem less like a gimmick), and most of the story points are put across visually. The fact that the Cybermen are planning to invade Earth and cyber-ize all its inhabitants is conveyed in seconds with one amazingly elegant special effect.
The black-and-white photography gives it a cool retro feel, as well as heightening the terror. It also lends impact to the flashback scenes, which are shot in color (a nice reversal of most films), and that, coupled with the sophisticated cutting, almost makes this feel like an “art” film at times. I like the way in which the filmmakers often cut to sfx shots of the asteroid’s barren surface; it gives the film a sense of place, and reminds me of a similar technique used by Ridley Scott in the original ALIEN. And I was absolutely gobsmacked to learn that only two Cybermen costumes (created for the classic Timebase vid PHASE FOUR) were used – the images are so skillfully composited that you’d swear they had a dozen. The contributions of Kevin Hiley cannot be overstated. The digital age has given fan films the ability to create sfx far in advance of what was once available, but even given that, Hiley’s work here is absolutely astonishing. Virtually every shot has some kind of augmentation (laser blasts, cg backgrounds, computer read-outs), and it all blends seamlessly. No big surprise, since Hiley is a designer for several television shows, and does this for a living, but it’s still eye-popping work.
It could be argued that DECONSTRUCTION is all style and no substance, and it’s true that the story is rather slight (and a bit of a downer), and exists mainly as a framework for the impressive handiwork of Messrs. Reid and Hiley. But that brings us to Westlake’s secret weapon: John Isles.
Isles, who has appeared in most of the Westlake output (he was memorable as a burned-out UNIT soldier in FUTURE INVESTMENT) has a hang-dog everyman quality that engenders enormous sympathy. He is perfectly cast as the dazed, somewhat bewildered – but ultimately heroic – Chinon. Because the action unfolds almost exclusively through his eyes (which Reid wisely cuts to, in close-up, at key moments in the story), we are right there with him, and the identification factor lends enormous weight to the goings-on. For all of DECONSTRUCTION’s slick special effects, it is John Isles’ haunted performance that gives it real impact. With a less impressive leading man, DECONSTRUCTION would still have been cool, but it wouldn’t have been quite so memorable.
The point has been raised before, but I’ll add my vote: DECONSTRUCTION deserves to be part of an official BBC dvd release (maybe INVASION if they ever get ‘round to it?). It’s that good. It has certainly set a new standard for fan film excellence, and has easily entered the ranks of the best WHO fan films ever.
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