TIFF 2020 Film Review: Shadow in the Cloud
Monster mayhem fails to find footing in the Cheap and Goofy Shadow in the Cloud
With its nonsensical story, unlikeable characters, and tawdry effects, Shadow in the Cloud is a flight better off grounded. Chloë Grace Moretz does her best to anchor this installment of TIFF’s Midnight Madness, but it’s mostly a weightless and messy endeavor that squanders its potential. Minor spoilers ahead…
Roseanne Liang’s Shadow in the Cloud has had a rough go. Produced from a script by disgraced screenwriter Max Landis, the film purportedly went through extensive rewrites to distance itself from its problematic scribe. Landis, who has all but retreated from public view amidst multiple allegations of abuse and sexual assault, was an open Hollywood secret for years, using clout from his hit film Chronicle to cover up his bad behavior and churn out critically savaged fare such as Victor Frankenstein and Bright. And while it may seem that Shadow in the Cloud nips the Landis problem in the bud with its rewrites, the troubled writer isn’t as scrubbed as you would think. In addition to having his name emblazoned in the end credits as co-writer, the film has his fingerprints all over it. With performative feminist messaging (which feels very much like the start of a misguided apology tour) and a ludicrous plot that’s way too shallow to be even jankily charming, Shadow in the Cloud is still, unfortunately, a Max Landis joint at heart.
The film centers around a mysterious World War II pilot named Maude Garrett (Chloë Grace Moretz), who boards a B-17 with a top secret package. On a covert mission with her arm in an unexplained sling, the flight departs from the Aukland Allied Air Force Base in New Zealand with a fuselage full of misogynistic servicemen. “Hey, is that an actual girl on board?” snickers one of the crew. From crude, sexist nicknames to other gems of dialogue labeling her “hotter than the devil’s cock,” the men do everything in their power to demean her. Completely dismissing her credentials and her vital mission, they shove her in the domed turret on the underbelly of the plane. From here, Shadow in the Cloud introduces two imminent, ADHD-fueled threats: a circling Japanese fighter that’s getting too close for comfort, and a Twilight Zone-inspired gremlin on the wing of the B-17.
“With its nonsensical story, unlikeable characters, and tawdry effects, Shadow in the Cloud is a flight better off grounded.”
I wish that there was more that could be said about Shadow in the Cloud’s sparse plot, but the narrative almost revels in its weightlessness, never pulling any of its numerous threads together with any kind of coherence or depth. Throughout most of the runtime, Liang aims for a bottle-episode feel by confining most of the action to the cramped gun turret, and for a little while, this claustrophobia-inducing camerawork does spark some enjoyment. With clever angles in a small space and a solidly great physical performance from Moretz, Shadow occasionally reveals glimmers of potential for taut suspense, but the film’s surrounding architecture is too shallow and silly to ever take advantage of its economical setting.
Shadow in the Cloud sees itself as a kind of feminist anthem, portraying the tough-as-nails Garrett as the asskicker who will eventually put her male naysayers in their place. Unfortunately, this is where the story falters most; the truth is that outside of Moretz’s performance, every other supporting player is a broad caricature. Mostly voices on the intercom, the male crewmen are almost uniformly irredeemable misogynists, existing only to be disposed of poetically in the film’s bloody third act. Shadow in the Cloud struggles immensely to inject itself with emotion, and even its big twist falls flat: The late, shocking reveal of what’s actually in Garrett’s satchel is supposed to energize the flailing plot with some backstory and pathos for our heroine, but it’s way too preposterous to take seriously. And when things go predictably pear-shaped in the film’s frantic third act, the seams of production really start to show. The final half-hour is a complete mess - there are cheap looking explosions, mind-boggling violations of basic physics, and even feats of laughably inhuman strength.
With its gripping synth score, unique environment, and sci-fi charms, Shadow in the Cloud has every ingredient for a cult classic, it’s just a shame that it’s so fatally underwritten. The film strives to give its beleaguered protagonist voice and agency, but all it does is flounder as a corny parade of empowerment tropes. Shadow in the Cloud is powered by incoherent plotting and shoddy effects, and by the time its “tribute” to real-life service-women plays over its end credits, it’s exceedingly easy to identify the film for what it really is: performative theater.
