Recreating Jonah

Author(s): Al
Location: NY

"Recreating Jonah"

Directed by Stephen Gaghan
Written by Stephen Gaghan

Main Cast
Daniel Simon: Matt Damon
Anna Simon: Rachel Weisz
Joel Devin: Thomas Haden Church
Director Fields: Chris Cooper
Jonah Simon: Cameron Brightand
Rose Simon: Dianne Wiest

Tagline: "What if you could press "restart" on a life?"

Synopsis: The year is 2017. Technology is advancing in all walks of life, from medicine to entertainment. However, the fate of humanity still seems bleaker than ever, as the threat of global warming grows and grows, the government becomes corrupt, and the reins of the world slowly shift over to the hands of huge oil companies.But life goes on, just as it always has. Daniel Simon tries to concentrate on his work as a genetic scientist at HelixWorks, Inc. while caring for his son Jonah, who has contracted a deadly new disease that doctors have only begun to understand and is now on life support. His wife Anna takes it especially hard, but tries to pretend like nothing's wrong. To try and get her the emotional support that he can't seem to provide, Daniel suggests that Anna visit her family across the country. One night, while she is gone, Daniel dozes off in Jonah's hospital room and wakes up to the flatlining beep of Jonah's heart monitor. Hysterical and dazed, Daniel wanders out into the streets of New York, eventually stumbling into the HelixWorks lab. Noticing a specimen that he had been preparing for cloning before, he decides to finish the job-except instead of the DNA of the original cadaver…he places in a lock of Jonah's hair.After hours of waiting, he finds his little boy crawling back out good as new, albeit stunned, blind, deaf, and dumb. He replaces him with his dead body back at the hospital, and they let him out, astonished at his "miraculous recovery". Anna flies back, overjoyed but confused. As Jonah regains his memories and cognitive functions and becomes more like normal, Daniel decides to keep the nature of Jonah's "recovery" secret from everyone (even his wife) fearing the consequences on his job. Meanwhile, Joel Devin, an old rival of Daniel's, is suspicious of Jonah's miracle cure and of the missing specimen from the lab. He begins to ruthlessly stalk Daniel, hunting for something-anything to incriminate him. Fields, HelixWorks' director, is trying to find out what happened to the missing clone. And Daniel must hide the truth about Jonah from everyone (including his Alzheimer's-stricken mother Rose), fearing for his child's life. Meanwhile, Jonah starts to exhibit some destructive, almost homicidal tendencies. Could it be that the original clone and Jonah are fighting for control of his body?Can life be replicated? Is there some divine force that makes us human? Is it right to cheat death? Daniel must answer all of these questions for himself as all the different areas of his life collide.

What the Press would say:
Science fiction has been written off in the past – unrealistic, silly, and fake. But in the recent past, that's all changed. TV shows like "Battlestar Galactica" and "Heroes" reach unsurpassed emotional territory and impress geeks and critics alike. And now, Stephen Gaghan brings us "Creating Jonah", a science fiction movie that isn't a science fiction movie. Though it takes place in the future, the film is relatable to us and seems like it could happen today. The dialogue is deep, and the characters are sympathetic. Gaghan is quickly evolving from a great screenwriter to a double-threat, both writing and directing this film.Matt Damon, as Daniel the conflicted father, carries the movie. His grief at his son's death is projected across his face as he struggles to find a way to keep Jonah alive. We have all prayed in desperation for the life of our loved ones, and so Daniel is inherently relatable. He brings sympathy to the character as we know what he is doing his wrong, but we can't help but root for him. That is the mark of a great actor: to make any character likable and sympathetic even when they make the wrong decisions. Rachel Weisz, as Daniel's loyal but conflicted wife provides the film with a strong emotional center as she transforms from a grieving mother whose heart is deteriorating under emotion to a wife who is afraid for the lives of her husband and son. Her character seeks some sort of stable center to her life, as she becomes embroiled in a conflict she never prepared herself for. Thomas Haden Church plays Joel, one of Daniel's co-workers. He has always hated Daniel, and so when he discovers his secret he risks everything to expose him, he stops at nothing to achieve his goals. He is a very lonely man, and thus his hunt satisfies and fulfills him in a strangely depraved way. Cameron Bright also delivers a classic child actor performance as the titular character-his portrayal of an innocent boy slowly turning into a twisted, schizophrenic character simply has to be seen to be believed-he defies all "child actor" expectations and delivers a genuinely terrifying performance.But the cast is only part of the equation. The magnificent ensemble would have nothing to do without the masterful screenwriting. Gaghan's dialogue seems to open windows into the characters' souls, subtly weaving subplots, relationship drama, and suspense into a seamless picture. His directing supplements the screenplay by framing it with constant close-ups of the characters' faces, so we can see their emotions playing across their eyes even as they stay silent. This could get grating in the hands of a lesser director, but Gaghan pulls it off. He strings together many different filmmaking elements into one cohesive movie that never seems to have to decide if it's a science fiction, a character study, a thriller, or an action film-and it doesn't have to. It pulls off all of them perfectly.

Best Picture (AMPAS)
Best Picture – Drama (HFPA)
Best Ensemble (SAG)
Best Director – Stephen Gaghan
Best Original Screenplay – Stephen Gaghan
Best Actor – Matt Damon
Best Supporting Actor – Thomas Haden Church
Best Supporting Actor – Cameron Bright
Best Supporting Actress – Rachel Weisz
Best Supporting Actress - Dianne Wiest