Hannon Fuller (Armin Mueller-Stahl) has created a virtual reality world too well. The computer generated people in it think, feel, and care. Fuller, who has been entering the “simulation” to enjoy the highlife, leaves a note for his friend and employee, Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko), with a VR bartender, and then is murdered in the real world. With the police suspecting Douglas of the crime, he must find the note.
Timing is everything. A year earlier and everyone would have been saying how innovative The Thirteenth Floor was. A year later, they would have been saying how derivative. But The Thirteenth Floor came out the same year as the The Matrix so few even noticed it (also the same year as eXistenZ, but it was swamped in The Matrix’s wake as well). At that time, the ideas in it were unusual enough that critics stated it was complex and confusing. Now, the complaint is that it’s too simple and predictable. It is neither, but it shows how one movie can change society’s perspective.
So, what is it? It is a beautifully filmed, well acted mystery that asks: What is the essence of a person? How different would you be if your environment were different? And how important are the things you do in life? These aren’t the same questions brought up by The Matrix, but the VR wrapping is similar. Craig Bierko mixes charm, desperation, and menace to make Douglas Hall. He is a more interesting character than his counterpoints in the other VR films of ’99, but then he better be as this is a more character driven film. Bierko, whose Timothy in The Long Kiss Goodnight was one of the great villains of the ’90s, pulls off the difficult role with ’40s style and a millennium cynicism. He rarely gets the acclaim or the roles he deserves and I would love to see more of him in substantive parts.
The Thirteenth Floor has undergone a great deal of criticism from people who thought it would, or should, be The Matrix B. If that is your expectation, you’re in for a disappointment. There aren’t huge super-powered fight scenes. But if you want an intelligent film that carefully develops both its characters and its concepts, and leaves you something to think about, you’ll want The Thirteenth Floor. Buy it and keep it on your shelf next to that copy of The Matrix, but don’t watch them as a double feature.