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Printer-Friendly ModeWhite Noise has some life
January 31, 2005 —
When viewing the film White Noise, starring Michael Keaton, one will be left at a virtual standstill and have skepticism over whether communication with the dead really takes place in real life. The film tackles this issue by using Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) as the central focal point of the plot.
EVP first was recognized and used in public by Jonathan Koons in 1852 when he tried to create a machine to communicate with the dead. It was an idea that Thomas Edison predicted would come into existence in the near future. One of the more famous cases of EVP was when Leslie Flint had recorded tapes under this supposed medium that had the voices of celebrities such as Gandhi, Tagore, George Bernard Shaw, Valentino and Oscar Wilde that could be heard after their deaths.
Experimenters have found that a background of white noise is conducive to results. Much of the research is aimed at arriving at the right choice of background noise, or vibration. The background noise can be as simple as tap water in the background or special radio frequencies in some cases. Scientists argue and frown upon EVP because tests cannot be replicated that would help prove EVP, so many of them dismiss this as a hoax. All of the topic debate and talk of recent occurrences brought Universal Pictures to produce White Noise, a fictional film directed by Geoffrey Sax.
In the film Keaton's wife disappears suddenly and a search begins, but fails to find her. Later it is confirmed by the police that his wife has died and possibly even was murdered by falling off of a bridge. Soon after, Keaton is contacted by a man who has also been dealing with the death of his son and he receives an explanation and learns of EVP. The man tells him how he has been getting messages with recording devices from Keaton's deceased wife and that eventually Keaton may be able to see her on a television. This is where the plot thickens, and Keaton starts receiving information from the dead to help save those who are living before events happen.
The movie is very similar to the 2000 film Memento in the way that foreshadowing is used so the viewer can sense things coming up in the plot. Just like Memento, a surprise ending takes place in which most viewers would be very unsuspecting of but it will leave the viewer thinking and wanting more.
The problem with this movie is that seeing in real life is believing, so many viewers will just brush off EVP as something that is not real or just seen in the movies because they have not really experienced this happening in real life. This makes it very difficult and nearly impossible to convince the viewer that something like this could take place in real life. The viewer is left wondering if something like this could really take place and drawing from personal experiences or what they have heard from other people.
As far as suspense and making this film a thriller Sax did a good job of that by using particularly good lighting and sound effects at the right time to keep the viewer on their toes. At times, the viewer will hear reassuring and comforting voices that Keaton hears through EVP that are followed with unexpected frightening and evil voices that really set the tone of the movie.
After watching the film White Noise viewers should not be disappointed when they find that they cannot be convinced if EVP is legitimate.
The idea of this type of phenomenon being real, and the question and thoughts it raises to the viewers head, along with pure entertainment of the movie would lead to a strong recommendation.