'Dark Matter'

Rating:

John Anderson

April 11, 2008

(2 STARS) DARK MATTER (R). A film almost impossible to review without giving everything away - especially everything that's wrong - "Dark Matter" is elegantly directed by the debuting Chen Shi-Zheng. It features several superb performances ( Meryl Streep, Liu Ye). And it concludes in a way that will have you asking whether the ending was misguided, or maybe it was just the rest of the movie.

Liu Xing (Liu Ye) is a visiting Chinese math genius whose worship of his new American professor ( Aidan Quinn) is met with jealousy and betrayal. Streep, in one of her now-standard metamorphoses, is a Sino-phile and patron who tries feebly to help the young man as he is cast aside by an ego-driven university structure. The story, the creative use of visuals, and the balance of cultures are all captivating.

What's highly irresponsible is Chen's and scriptwriter Billy Shebar's manipulation of our sympathies, and trust, which might, in the end, make the viewer feel as betrayed as Liu Xing. 1:28 (adult content, language, violence). In English and Mandarin with English subtitles. At the Village East, Manhattan.