Dark Matter, which played the 2007 Sundance Film Festival but is just now making it to DVD, is a tough drama to take; it's raw in parts, beautiful in others, paced like a suspense film but careful and sensitive as the finest drama. Featuring Meryl Streep (in one of her best recent roles), it's the story of a young Chinese academic, Lu Xing (Liu Ye), who comes to America to do doctoral work in physics with scientist superstar Jacob Reiser (Aidan Quinn), putting in long hours at the lab to help perfect Reiser's vision of the universe. For a while, under Reiser's guidance and with the support of Joanna Silver (Meryl Streep), a local well-off woman who delights in taking exchange students under her wing, Xing is happy, living the American dream. But, in time, he (and we) come to realize that all nightmares start as dreams. …
The feature-film debut of opera director Chen Shi-Zheng, Dark Matter is a tough film to watch; it's based on real-life events that took place at the University of Iowa that, to use understatement for fear of spoiling the film, did not end well. But Dark Matter's also a beautiful film, with graceful moments and a certain sense of humor, as well; Reiser is always insisting Xing call him "Jake," extending small courtesies before pulling the rug out from under Xing in a vain, cruel moment. Streep's Silver is a featherweight, kind-but-foolish woman who has so much love to give that it makes a bit of a mess. And Xing's roommates — fellow Chinese students — act as kind of a chorus of comedy, sitting in the backyard chain-smoking, drinking beer and tanning when they're not chained to their workstations.
It's also a beautiful film; Shi-Zheng is famed for his skill in the world of opera — and a brief sequence where Xing goes to a Chinese opera performance in Dark Matter will make that clear – but he also has a much better grasp on the very different realities of directing for film; there are simple shots here of wind in grass, or light in the evening, that are so real they become beautiful, and so beautiful they leap off the screen. It's that contrast, I think — between the moments of peace and beauty in the film and the horrible things that happen in it — which make Dark Matter fascinating, and worth seeing. A recent New York Times Magazine piece by A. O. Scott looked at the new wave of 'neo-realist" American film directors — a fancy way of talking about movie makers who aren't interested in talking robots or supernatural romantic comedies — and wondered aloud, to paraphrase, that while movies offered us escapism, don't some moviegoers want an escape from escapism, to see real lives on the big screen in all their sorrow and splendor?
The DVD of Dark Matter is a fairly bare-bones affair, but, in all seriousness, this is one of those films where a commentary or too much making-of material would detract from, rather than add to, the experience. Streep's work is lovely and strong and sad; Joanna's a woman who has everything but still lacks something, and her need to help everyone around her feel better clearly springs from some great pain. Streep never over-explains the part, though, and she makes Joanna feel real even in her most enthusiastic and clueless moments. And as Xing, Ye is also excellent; his work sneaks up on you, as Xing goes from being a faceless anonymous drone toiling away at his work to being a fully-realized, tragic character. It's a subtle performance, but an impressive one. Dark Matter begins as a young student tries to figure out the mysteries hidden in the darkness of the universe; it ends as he becomes a dark mystery himself. No, it's not easy to watch, and it's not a traditional Hollywood film; at the same time, it's hard to not imagine being moved and infuriated and saddened by it. If you're looking for a movie that turns your mind on instead of off, Dark Matter will enthrall you with a strange, strong dim light that casts long shadows.
