"I'm not the monster I used to be," says a grouchy, fire-breathing, alcoholic, and foul-mouthed monster (Robert John Burke), who lives alone in Iceland. Because he's immortal, he's been around for a very long time, watching whole species come and go, but he can't die himself. That means he also can't get away from all the toxic noise of humanity, which sends him into fits of rage.
In New York City, Beatrice (Sarah Polley) is employed by a media company. She learns that her boyfriend and his crew were murdered by the monster. Her boss (Helen Mirren), bored by all the everyday stories of violence and terrorism in the city, decides to send Beatrice to Iceland. The same day, everyone's talking about the sale of lower Manhattan by the mayor to a major Hollywood studio.
Writer and director Hal Hartley can always be depended upon to deliver an off-beat film experience that both entertains and edifies. Here in a world beset by chaos, humanity still needs to have a monster to blame for all its wayward, out-of-control, and sadistic tendencies. That way the evil can always be out there and done by someone else, rather than in here caused by our actions.
Besides dealing with the human need to have an evil enemy to blame for everything, Hartley has a ball with themes borrowed from Beauty and the Beast. As played by Robert John Burke, this monster is a creature with genuine pain and exasperation, a vulnerable being for sure. His heart is touched by the innocence and kindness of Beatrice, who finally reaches his Icelandic residence after surviving the crash of her plane and having a miraculous operation to restore her badly injured spine and legs.
The monster convinces Beatrice to take him back to New York. He wants to find Dr. Artaud (Baltasar Kormakur), a mad scientist who has created a machine that can put the creature out of his misery. Only trouble is, the United States government has its own plans for the monster and Beatrice's boss wants to use him as well.
As this fanciful drama hurtles toward its surprising finale, you'll be enthralled by its quirky insights into contemporary culture where the appetite for violence, instant gratification, and voyeuristic sensationalism continues unabated.
