This is the first article in a sub-section of Waters’ Review that I’m choosing to call “Waters’ Classics.” These articles are largely inspired by Roger Ebert’s “The Great Movies” series.
Join me as I take a deep dive into movies I consider to be masterpieces, starting with one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time: “The Matrix.”
Being a movie enthusiast has forced me to ponder things I didn’t often think about in the past. One of those things being the choices film critics make when deciding what to watch on any given day. I often wonder,
- What prompts someone like Sean Fennessey to revisit an old favorite for a “Rewatchables” episode, as opposed to picking a newer film for a “Movies to Stream” segment?
- How does David Sims determine which film series or director to immerse himself in for a re-binge?
As I embrace the role as a quasi-critic myself, I’ve come to realize that these choices are largely driven by my mood. I boot up something like “Iron Man 2” on Disney+ when I crave mindless action. I select “All About Eve” on the Criterion Channel when I need to intellectually stimulate my brain. On my coffee table in my dorm room I keep a pile of blu-ray to help me stay organized with my ever-expanding backlog. The intention there is to watch at least one new (to me) film a day.
There’s one movie, though, that I keep revisiting. I keep going back to this film so much that it has become an ironic bedtime ritual for me: The Wachowskis’ masterpiece, “The Matrix.” I say it’s ironic to fall asleep to this flick because it’s largely about waking up to the redundancy of mundane society. It’s telling us to go further, work harder, and become “the one.” However, it’s not entirely the “deep state exposé” bad faith right-wingers like Andrew Tate would have you believe.
The film stars a young and irresistibly charismatic Keanu Reeves (“John Wick,” “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “Speed,”) as Thomas Anderson (aka Neo), a computer hacker trying to discover the meaning of a mysterious, recurring phrase, “the matrix.” He is led to Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss), who guides him to a man called Morpheus, who has the answer Neo seeks. Morpheus offers Neo two pills, a blue one that keeps him in the matrix, and a red one, that forces him to leave his comfort and discover all the real world has to offer. Neo takes the red pill, leaves the matrix, and enters the real world.
I think I keep going back to this film because it’s the perfect mix of mindless action and intellectually stimulating writing. The special effects hold up really well, the musical score is excellent, and the overall plot line is compelling and never gets old (with lore and lore galore). In fact, it had such an impact on popular culture that one of my coworkers at the pizza restaurant I spend my weekends serving food is named Trinity – after the character in the film.
Even so, while reassessing “The Matrix,” many critics have claimed that the once-innovative writing has become generic and pretentious. David Denby of The New Yorker pointed out that the famous line “it is not the spoon that bends but only yourself,” was as irritating as it was when he first heard it “at a fumy party in San Francisco, in 1969.”
I would argue by saying these superficially philosophical inquiries actually contribute to a unique, somewhat campy charm to the film. This is further emphasized by Reeves et al.’s goofy manner of bringing these concepts to life.
While the film is willingly goofy, there are a lot of cultural statements and implications. It’s rather amusing that this film has become a sort of Nazi dog whistle of late because, at its core, it’s an allegory for being transexual. It was written and directed by two transexual women, which adds a layer of depth and authenticity to this objective interpretation.
NPR interviewed Emily Vanderwerff, a transgender woman film critic, about this, who stated, “I think that the main sort of thrust of this argument is really the idea that the system that you have built your life upon is a lie and is made up. …if you are a trans person, there is sort of this idea that you are living in a muffling cocoon that is keeping you from seeing the reality of yourself and that cocoon, to some degree, is the idea of fixed gender identity, which is one that society is very, like, built atop.”
It’s important to note that I’m not suggesting this film is groundbreaking in terms of the nineties LGBTQIA+ representation (it’s no “Boys Don’t Cry” or “The Crying Game”). However, for a mainstream action film distributed by Warner Brothers Entertainment, its implications carry far more significance. Facetiously, I find it humorous that conservative influencers like Andrew Tate, Elon Musk, etc. keep shouting out this movie so much, as it may actually be leading their followers out of the right-wing pipeline. It’s possible that the film is allowing its audiences to subconsciously become more accepting of LGBTQIA+/trans people.
“The Matrix” holds a special place in cinema history as an allegory for transgender experiences. In a humorous twist, it’s intriguing to consider how even those who may not fully understand the film’s underlying subtext inadvertently contribute to greater acceptance of LGBTQIA+/trans individuals. “The Matrix,” 24+ years after its conception, continues to impress and entertain audiences and critics alike, making it a timeless classic worth revisiting.
So, as I embrace my role as a quasi-critic for Waters’ Review, I find solace in the fact that film-watching choices are driven by more than just genre or narrative – – it’s the ever-shifting landscape of our emotions and the intriguing layers of cinema that keep us coming back for more.
Film Credits:
Top Cast:
Keanu Reeves as Thomas Anderson aka Neo
Laurence Fishburn as Morpheus
Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity
Screenplay By:
Lilly Wachowski
Lana Wachowski
Directed By:
Lilly Wachowski
Lana Wachoski
The Matrix (1999) – 2 Hours and 16 Minutes
Rated R for sci-fi violence and brief language
Available to stream on Max and Peacock (as of 09/10/2023), and to buy on 4K/Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital
5/5