OPENS SEPTEMBER 5, CERT 15, 96 MINS
The second feature by the director of promising sci-fi picture Cube seems to delight in confounding expectations and undermining conventions?it takes a while to realise that the picture is not just a stylish thriller set in the world of corporate espionage, but also one of the most original and brain-bending sci-fi films for a long time.
Jeremy Northam plays Morgan Sullivan, an unemployed, disillusioned accountant recruited by a multinational to perform low-level industrial espionage. But then the headaches and hallucinations start. And an exotic beauty called Rita seems to think his life is in danger.
There are similarities to Minority Report, though Cypher is the equal of that film on a fraction of the budget and with virtually no special effects. But Memento is the movie with which this has most in common?a man cut loose from his own identity, searching for a version of the truth. Expect a series of switchbacks and U-turns rather than a nice easy ride.