Synopsis

Called in to recover evidence after a bomb sets off a cataclysmic explosion onboard the New Orleans ferry Senator Alvin T Clumpf, ATF agent Doug Carlin is about to discover that what most people believe is only in their heads is actually something far more powerful, and will lead him on a mind-bending race to save the lives of over five hundred innocent people. As Carlin’s investigation deepens, it not only probes through the very fabric of space and time but becomes an innovative love story that unfolds in reverse when Carlin discovers his puzzling emotional connection to a woman whose past holds the key to stopping a catastrophe that could destroy their future. In the split second of a glance, without words yet with complete trust, Carlin takes one chance to change everything. Using top secret equipment that can fold time, Catlin travels back in time to avert a great tragedy.

What The Critics Say

"It's Denzel himself, ambling through the nonsense with just the right degree of twinkling insouciance, who keeps you watching. Good fun." Paul Arendt BBC "Deja Vu is the third film that director Tony Scott and Denzel Washington have made together. It begins spectacularly with the horrific bombing of a New Orleans ferry. There is no doubting Tony Scott’s ability to deliver action with style, and he almost surpasses himself with "Deja Vu". 4 STARS." Margaret Pomeranz ABC AT THE MOVIES "Déjà Vu has enough style and forward (or is it backward) momentum to viewers aroused." Marjorie Baumgarten AUSTIN CHRONICLE "Blending elements of satellite surveillance and time travel portals to the limit, Déjà vu is a ripper of a thriller, taking us on a complex journey, spinning a yarn that makes the impossible seem feasible." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE "Déjà Vu impresses with both the complexity of its storyline and its willingness to allow things to develop at their own pace without interjecting a lot of needless action scenes into the early proceedings to keep viewers attentive." James Berardinelli REELVIEWS

"Like most time travel movies, "Deja Vu" is completely absurd but nevertheless fascinating. The gee-whiz directing style of Tony Scott ("Man on Fire") coupled with the star power of Denzel Washington helps this film to overcome its plot contrivances and deliver an entertaining action romp. 8/10." Mark Beirne BRISBANE WHAT'S ON "Déjà Vu isn't meant for heavy thinking; it's simply designed as entertainment. On that level, it's hard to fault." Ken Hanke MOUNTAIN XPRESS "The movie's saved by an appealing star, a swift pace and a vivid setting." Moira MacDonald SEATTLE TIMES "It's just nonsense. But it's very enjoyable, and most of the time I don't like Tony Scott's films very much. I mean, I think he overdoes things, he over-directs, he over-edits and so on. But this time he seems to have a firm hand on proceedings and the film covers a lot of ground, it moves quickly, and it's wonderfully imaginative, even though you know how silly it all is. Well, this is my guilty pleasure of the summer, I must say. 4 STARS." David Stratton ABC AT THE MOVIES "Pretty dazzling, as action adventures go, even when it's wildly, almost defiantly, implausible." Joe Morgenstern WALL STREET JOURNAL

The Man With The Golden Gut. Great stories, well told. They can be for audiences in darkened movie theaters or home living rooms. They can feature great movie stars or introduce new talent. They can be true adventure, broad comedy, heartbreaking tragedy, epic history, joyous romance or searing drama. They can be set in the distant or recent past, an only imagined future or a familiar present. Whatever their elements, though, if they begin with a lightning bolt, they are stories being told by Jerry Bruckheimer, and they will be great stories, well told. The numbers (of dollars and honors) are a matter of often-reported record. Bruckheimer’s films have earned worldwide revenues of over $US14.5 billion in box-office, video and recording receipts. In the 2005-6 season, he had a record-breaking eight series on network television including "C.S.I", "C.S.I. Miami", "Cold Case" and "The Amazing Race". The acclaimed producers films, fifteen of which exceeded the $100 million mark in U.S. box-office receipts, have been acknowledged with 35 Academy Award® nominations, five Oscars®, eight Grammy Award® nominations, five Grammys®, 23 Golden Globe® nominations, four Golden Globes®, 53 Emmy® award nominations, 12 Emmys®, 16 People's Choice nominations, six People's Choice Awards, numerous MTV Awards, including one for Best Picture of the Decade for "Beverly Hills Cop", and 14 Teen Choice Awards. But the numbers exist only because of Bruckheimer’s uncanny ability to find the stories and tell them on film. He is, according to the Washington Post, "the man with the golden gut" while The Los Angeles Times lists him as number 8 in its 2006 The Power Iss. Envious industry competitors would probably agree that Jerry Bruckheimer is truly "the man with the golden touch". The Inside Story déjà vu: a feeling of having already experienced the present situation. At a guess I'd say just about everyone has experienced the unsettling mystery of déjà vu. That flash of memory when you meet someone new you feel you’ve known all your life or recognize a place even though you’ve never been there before. But what if these strange, spooky feelings were actually warnings sent from the past or clues to an unfolding future? That's the question posed in the new action thriller from Academy ® Award winning producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Clio Award winning director Tony Scott, "Deja Vu". The spine-tingling sensation of déjà vu has mystified humankind for centuries. The feeling hits at the strangest moments. Like when we fall instantly and madly in love with a total stranger, or when we arrive at a brand-new place we feel we know like the back of our hand. Whenever events occur that inexplicably feel like they must have played out somehow, somewhere before in our lives, it leads to us questioning; have I experienced this before?. From philosophers to filmmakers, we have all wondered: Where does this feeling come from? Is it all in the mind or does it emerge from some deeper reality? Why does it happen? And, most of all, what does it mean? "It is these fascinating gray areas that lie at the heart of our film," says the star of "Deja Vu", Golden Globe ® Award winning actor, Denzel Washington who admits he's been struck by déjà vu. "I think we all have had the feeling that we have been somewhere before. I've had it, too," Washington admits. "I used to have this dream about a particular place in Brooklyn, and then one day I went there, and I couldn’t help but feel like I had been there before. It’s one of those big mysteries in life that I think everyone wants to get to the bottom of." It must have felt like déjà vu for Bruckheimer because he purchased the Bill Marsilii and Terry Rossio within hours of it arriving on his desk. "The concept of "Deja Vu" was completely original, a real page-turner, and different from any other love story I had ever read," he recalls. "We were fortunate enough to be the first ones to get a peek at it, so we bought the screenplay within forty-eight hours of receiving it." The storyline is a fascinating premise. It starts with with a deadly, heartbreaking tragedy involving over five hundred lives. This event brings in a federal agent will have to follow his sense of déjà vu and, using top-secret technology, trace his steps all the way back to the moment in time when he might have a shot at altering the catastrophe; and with it, his own chance for a once in a lifetime love affair. Bruckheimer loved it! "We felt that "Deja Vu" had enormous drama to it because of what takes place around the love story. The idea that you can bring somebody back to life again is a wonderful concept. This story is risky, it’s entertaining and it’s romantic. And by bringing in Tony Scott to direct," he says, "we knew it would be filled with exciting action." In fact this is the sixth collaboration for Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer and, the third collaboration for Scott and Washington ("Crimson Tide", "Man On Fire" and the soon to be released "American Gangster"). "Tony, Denzel, and I had all worked together on Crimson Tide," says seven time EMMY award winner Bruckheimer, "but Tony and I hadn’t really done a love story together since "Top Gun". "Deja Vu" presented those same elements of action and drama but with the underpinnings of a beautiful romance tinged with incredible mystery. This was just the project to reunite us." When asked why he finds working with Tony Scott (brother of Ridley Scott) he replied: "Tony brings the amazing scope of his artistry to every visual aspect of a movie.That is why you hire Tony Scott. He is a great storyteller who is extremely dedicated to his craft. We both had the same goal for this film: to take you away for two hours so you can forget about everything else and just get lost in the magic on the screen." And on working with Denzel Washington who in "Deja Vu" plays ATF agent Doug Carlin? "Denzel is one of those actors who, as a moviegoer, you are always rooting for, which made him perfect for this role. As a federal agent, he's faced with an incredible situation where he can change the past. There is a line halfway through "Deja Vu" where Denzel's character says 'all of my career I’ve been trying to catch people after they do something horrible. For once in my life I’d like to catch somebody before they do something horrible. Alright? Can you understand that?' That is the moment that you feel empathy for this tough ATF guy who has seen it all, and you are completely hooked. We knew Denzel would bring this story to life and have people in the audience want to take this journey with him." Adds director Tony Scott, "Doug Carlin has great intuition, and Denzel is a very intuitive actor, so the fit seemed almost meant to be." So what was it, besides the thriller aspects of the films storyline, that drew Denzel to the project. The answer is love. "I loved that a big part of this story is a love story in reverse. My character encounters a young woman who’s dead when he meets her, and then he gets a chance to watch her live. It sounds complicated at first, but with Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott involved, I knew it was going to be a great ride." That young woman in the film is Claire Kuchever, played by newcomer Paula Patton. For Patton, the chance to work with Washington was a dream come true. She says it also gave her a sense of déjà vu in its own right. "The relationship between me and Denzel was something that happened so organically, it made me think even more about what that feeling of déjà vu means,” she remarks. “That same experience where you meet someone and you immediately feel comfortable and connected to them; that’s what happened between Denzel and me instantly!" Denzel admits his role is at times a little voyeuristic. "My character ends up watching every move Claire Kuchever makes through satellite surveillance footage leading up to her death. It is a bit voyeuristic, but it wasn’t hard at all with such a beautiful actress as Paula Patton," he says. "The camera loves her, and everybody in the room falls for her." "Tony Scott is a true lover of women, and if you really look at his movies, all of his female characters are strong, independent and unique," Patton observes. "They all have a vulnerability and sexiness to them, but they are solid people. Even with a victim, like my character Claire is in this film, she still has a very compelling strength and power." For actor Jim Caviezel, "Deja Vu" is a complete change of character. He goes from playing Jesus in Mel Gibson's "The Passion Of The Christ" to terrorist bomber in this production. "The story is definitely complex, but nobody can do complex better than Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott and make it the most extraordinary moviegoing experience in the process," says Caviezel. "I love that it’s a thriller that tackles both the seen and the unseen." Vaviezel also revealed he was especially excited to have a chance to work with such Hollywood powerhouses as Bruckheimer and Scott. "I can remember seeing "Top Gun" in my junior year of high school and, because of that film, applying to the United States Naval Academy three times. It was my favorite film ever, and suddenly I thought my destiny was to fly jets," he recalls. "Having this chance to work with them on this film was such a pleasure. Jerry and Tony are truly good people." Also reuniting with team Bruckheimer and Scott is the co-star of "Top Gun" and the actor who put the bang in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", 2003 Prism Award winner Val Kilmer. "The size and spectacle of Jerry and Tony's imagination is very big and satisfying and their palette for action adventure unstoppable. Tony Scott is one of my favorite people, not just directors. He says good morning to 100 people on the crew by name, and his enthusiasm is what gets everyone through the shooting day. With Jerry and Tony, what I love being around is that they’re very genuine people. They like the life they’re living and they’re generous with it, and it makes for a great experience," Vilmer explained. Part of that great experience is realism. The film’s advisors included retired agent Jerry Rudden, who has spent twenty years involved in these and other high-profile, post-blast investigations. Rudden worked closely with Denzel Washington to train him in ATF protocol and also to help the actor forge the emotional nuances of a typically driven and devoted federal agent. "Denzel and I talked a lot about the investigations I had been involved with and especially the perceptions and feelings that are involved," recalls Rudden. "He asked how I felt at the crime scene of the Oklahoma City bombings, and I told him the hardest thing to do is not to become personally involved in the investigation. You try and handle everything objectively, but by the same token, you are still human." Washington says, "working with real ATF agents was invaluable. It helped to do research with real guys like Rudden who worked on the Pentagon bombing investigation, the first World Trade Center bombing and Oklahoma City. You name it, he was there, and he knows what it’s really like. It helped me to really understand how, as a bomb specialist, Doug is not really as good at dealing with people as he is at dealing with evidence." Finally on the subject of déjà vu. The latest theory is Scientists on the fringes of new discoveries in quantum physics have suggested that déjà vu could be the result of parallel universes that accidentally intersect when the fabric of space-time is disrupted. It is the latter theory that plays a vital role in the development of the films suspenseful and thought-provoking twists. To get the right handle on what pioneering physicists believe about how time really operates, Bruckheimer and Scott went right to the source: they picked the mega-sized brains of several world-class physicists, including Dr Brian Greene, an expert on String Theory and a professor of physics at Columbia University. The Verdict "When you see the name Jerry Bruckheimer on a film you know you're just about guaranteed a damn good time. Such is the case with "Deja Vu". It's an intriguing film that requires little from its audience other than they sit back, relax and let it flow. The filmmakers bent on a hi-tech machine which can fold back time and create its own wormholes is a facinating one, and while it may not have a whole lot of credibility in the real world, it works well on the big screen in "Deja Vu" thanks to some spectaular SFX. Two Time Academy ® Award winner Denzel Washington (in top form as ATF Agent Doug Carlin) heads the cast list which includes Val Kilmer, Jim Caviezel and Paula Patton. Highly recommended. 4 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "DEJA VU" stars .......
Two Time Academy ® Award winner; Golden Globe ® Award & Stanley Kramer Award winner Denzel Washington ["Glory", "Philadelphia", "Devil in a Blue Dress", "Training Day" and "Man On Fire""]; 2003 Prism Award winner Val Kilmer ["Top Secret", "Top Gun", "Heat", "The Salton Sea" and "Kiss, Kiss Bang, Bang"]; Bruce Greenwood ["Capote", "The World's Fastest Indian" and "Eight Below"]; Jim Caviezel ["The Thin Red Line", "Pay It Forward", "The Final Cut" and "The Passion of the Christ"], Adam Goldberg ["The Salton Sea", "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "A Beautiful Mind"]; Matt Craven ["A Few Good Men", "Crimson Tide" and "The Life of David Gale"]; Brian Howe ["Catch Me If You Can", "K-PAX", "RV" and "The Pursuit Of Happyness"]; Enrique Castillo ["Borderline", "Bound by Honor", "Mars Attacks!" and "Nixon"] and Paula Patton ["Hitch"] as Claire Kuchever.
"DEJA VU" was .......
directed by Tony Scott ["Top Gun", "Crimson Tide", "The Fan" and "Man On Fire"]; screenplay by Terry Rossio ["Godzilla", "The Mask Of Zorro", "Shrek" and "Pirates of the Caribbean I & II"] and Bill Marsilii ["Jingle"]; director of photography BAFTA Award winner Paul Cameron ASC ["Swordfish", "Gone In Sixty Seconds", "Man on Fire" and "Collateral"]; original music by Annie Award winner Harry Gregson-Williams ["Man On Fire", "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason", "Miss Congeniality 2", "Domino" and "Flushed Away"] production design by Chris Seagers ["Johnny English", "Man On Fire" and "Domino"] and costume design by Ellen Mirojnick ["America's Sweethearts", "Don't Say A Word", "Unfaithful" and "The Sentinel"]. Run Time 121 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2007 - Buena Vista International - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2007 - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved