srowley75 wrote:Mr. Arkadin wrote:MikeBSG wrote:Do you think "Seconds" is unappreciated because it is so downbeat, or because it falls between the science fiction and horror genres? It isn't an easy film to pigeonhole.
Most people associate who they are with what they do. While this is definitely a part of our lives, it does not define our humanity and individuality, as anyone who has lost or changed their abilities can easily attest. For these reasons,
Seconds can be a very uncomfortable experience and no doubt bothered many audiences who were expecting to enjoy a simple thriller.
Sorry so late to this thread...
While working through the
1001 Movies... , I watched this one again recently for the first time in ages - luckily I managed to snag a copy of the Paramount DVD a couple years ago before it went out of print.
Could another reason possibly be the overwhelming feeling of despair about American (Western?) life that the movie generates? The overall pessimism pervading the movie was one of the things Sis and I discussed after the film was over. Randolph seems so discontent with his conventional American upper-middle-class life even before his operation that it's almost as though Frankenheimer is suggesting that the only choices he has here are bad and worse.
While I cannot speak to the writers original intent, I see Randolph as a man who is discontent, but his discontentment is not of a physical, but a spiritual nature.
The material wealth and status he holds are not evil in themselves, but it is the idea that he has chosen to pursue these things at the cost of his family, dreams, and personal expression (he wants to be an artist). If he chose to sacrifice his dream of becoming a tennis instructor to better support his family, his career change might be an admirable one, but he has chosen this path because he felt it was "what he was supposed to do."
His visit to his old home is an indication that his life could have been very different, so we (and he) realize the power of change was within his grasp, but never exercised.
Thus, we are left with a man who never knew
himself, or believed and acted on personal convictions. Instead, he has allowed his life and world to be shaped and directed by others (which is also shown in the way he becomes a reborn) and now must live in the prison he has created--at least until he's ready for the
Next Phase.