Splice

At the end of the film Splice I was the first one out of my seat and heading to exit the theater. I was heading down the dark hallway toward the exit door light as the ominous sounds from the film soundtrack still hung in the air. As I walked through the theater door there was a moment of overlap where two completely different experiences bled together. With one foot in the dark theater and the dark mysterious music still ringing, the other foot was in the well lit hallway where the chorus to the Traveling Willbury's tune "End of the Line" (perhaps the most upbeat, bouncy, happy go lucky sounding song there is) played through the hallway speakers. While reflecting in the washroom (the reason I was the first to exit the theatre) I recognized that this weird moment of conflicting realities sort of summed up my experience with Splice.
Last week I mentioned that my brother was in Splice and that I saw no reason that everyone would not go right out and see it. I now see a reason...it was creepy...intensely creepy. If that bothers you then you probably do not want to experience this film because it does creep really, really well and the experience won't leave you anytime soon. And here is where I find that overlap of realities I was speaking about. On the one hand it was pretty cool to see my brother on the big screen and I was exited. On the other hand it was one of the creepiest movies I have ever seen and it really haunted me. So there they were, two conflicting experiences, being excited and absolutely weirded out at the same time.
I knew the premise of the film in which two brilliant young scientist make some decisions to cross ethical lines (and laws) to do genetic experimentation. That was certainly the foundation of the film's plot. What I was not expecting was the way the film investigated not only these scientific ethical questions, but a whole gamut of ethical and moral decisions that the two characters would make and the consequences of those decisions. It investigated scientific questions of ethical boundaries in experimentation but also questions of blurring objectivity, personal attachment and psychological baggage as the relationship between the female scientist and her creation develops. There are also investigations into moral failures in particular infidelity and...incest (is it incest when one has such relations with something one has created in a laboratory?) It was these investigations that I found to be the most creepy and haunting (and overly graphic in my opinion). It was an intense experience to say the least.
Here is where I have the biggest dilemma. It may sound like I didn't appreciate the film but the honest truth is that I am conflicted. It made me extremely uncomfortable, but is that a bad thing? After all, that is what it was supposed to do. It was exploring some interesting questions and trying to provoke thought and dialogue. If it was not so creepy, would it have done it's job? If I had walked away unaffected would it have sounded any kind of warning to me to truly consider my thoughts and actions? I do think that some scenes where more graphic than they needed to be to get me to think (and they are still turning my stomach) but I am still conflicted about what I think.
I had another thought after the film that I am not conflicted about. There is one very emotionally charged scene during which the two scientist are lamenting, grieving and reflecting over the sum total of their actions that had brought them to such a terrible place. He comments that they had changed the rules, that they had crossed a line and that they had crossed the line between right and wrong. After thinking about it, I came to realize how significant it is to have something on which to base ethical and moral decisions. The characters in the movie had no particular source of guidance that they trusted or where invested in on which they based their decisions. What started as one decision to break an ethical scientific law with which they did not agree then revealed a whole assortment of other decisions and issues, and led to a number of new ones that the characters then had to face without any particular guideline to help them keep their bearing. For me, I have come to recognize scripture as one such guide. It functions as a plum line if you will or a compass on which to rely on when making life decisions and has proven to be a trustworthy guide. Of course, it presupposes the existence of God and that He has revealed much about himself and His expectation through the scripture. It also presupposes that He is the creator of the universe and thus is in a place to offer such guidance and that He has our best in mind and at heart and so will lead us to what is best. But having come to such conclusions, I then have a source upon which to lean and seek guidance even in times that are unclear, uncertain and trying. I don't mean to give a simple Sunday school answer to life (which is always either Jesus of the Bible). I don't mean to say that we will not have to wrestle with, dig through and work to properly interpret scripture. But as we engage with the Word of God in such a way, and as His Spirit opens our eyes and hearts to what scripture has for us, then there is hope for such guidance.
So there are some reflections that I have managed between bouts of being creeped out!