So, let’s sort it out, was it real or all just a dream for Quaid?
Reality versus delusion, a recurrent Philip K Dick theme and something we all consider after a few too many shrooms. Think about it all too much and you can end up feeling like you’re gasping for air on the Mars surface (see above). Total Recall is a great guilty pleasure pre-cgi action movie and also one of the better attempts at a head-fuck ambiguous sci-fi. So, is it all a real, crazy Mars adventure? Or is it being fed directly to Quaid’s mind? There are clues that support both sides in the film and on the special edition commentary. Verhoeven and Dick play up the intentional ambiguity all the way to the final fade to white. So what’s the deal?
It’s fucking real man!
OK, plenty of plot points happen that Quaid is not aware of yet the viewer sees. This suggests that what we are seeing is real.
In an interview, Schwarzenegger talked about the challenge of acting in the film, “Because you’re not coming in with the same character that you’re going out with. Hauser’s an interesting character, but Quaid’s just this big program…” Schwarzenegger’s reference to Quaid as a ‘program,’ goes with the main plot strand and suggests that the events on Mars were real.
On the DVD commentary Verhoeven says that using Arnold as opposed to the mooted Richard Dreyfuss and Patrick Swayze leans the film towards being real. It’s Arnie! Don’t fuck around, of course it’s real.
Verhoeven and Schwarzenegger discuss how they wanted to do a sequel (which became Minority Report), using Quaid as the hero of a firm that uses martian psychics (precogs in the Steven Spielberg film) to solve crimes before they happen. If the events on Mars in the film hadn’t been real it would be impossible to have Quaid star in a sequel.
No fucking way!!
Early on in the film it is suggested that if one’s mind cannot adjust to the implanted reality (resulting in a schizoid embolism) a lobotomy is the only solution. Verhoeven has suggested that if the film is a dream, Quaid may receive a lobotomy. And he confirms that the movie fades to white instead of the normal fade-to-black due to the fact that Quaid is lobotomised by the Rekall doctors at that point.
When Quaid is confronted by his wife & the Rekall spokesman, the spokesman goes on to detail the entire second half of the movie
Verhoeven states quite clearly in the special edition DVD commentary that Quaid is on the table at Rekall living out a fantasy. He points out that the imagery on the screen at Rekall show the alien machine, the girl of his dreams and a blue sky over Mars. All of which we see later.
It seems quite likely that Verhoven’s insistence that Quaid was living a fantasy the whole time on the DVD commentary is due to the fact that the sequel that was supposed to star Schwarzenegger was scrapped. So there was no need to have the Total Recall story be anything more than the (originally intended) implant gone awry.
WTF?
The film’s plot is a complex psychotic reaction to a high tech brain implant. With a few red herrings (to allow for a possible sequel) and the limitations of the movie narrative form to ignore. And it’s a shit load of fun!
I attended an informal Q&A with Verhoeven after a screening of Agent Orange at Ball State University in the early nineties (shortly after Total Recall). He was asked if the movie was real or a dream. To paraphrase, he responded that he had intentionally made the question unanswerable, stacking up bits of fact to support both possibilities. He hoped to drive people to repeat viewings as they tried to answer a question that was essentially unanswerable.
Thanks Jerry, awesome. That makes sense. Shit. Tom can we delete my posting?! Haha.
Yeah, I think that’s why the film works so well for repeat viewings. Great fun. And It’s still good to debate the most likely conclusion and I stick by this one for now…
It seems to me that Verhoeven has developed a bit of an “evolved” opinion over time. Sequel chances rise and fall, and who would remember an informal chat from fifteen years ago….
I remember trying to figure it out myself back in the day. Arguing over the answer was half the fun. Good Post!
I still believe to this day that the answer is HE WAS DREAMING! Everything was a dream and I’m going to tell you why.
There is one particular moment in “Total Recall” which convinced me that all of what was happening was a dream.
Scene: Quaid is getting ready for the EgoTrip at “Recall”.
When Quaid is getting strapped in for the EgoTrip that he payed for, one of the associates walks into the room and his name was Ernie. As he heads towards the controls, the head doctor hands him an object and the first thing that comes out of his mouth is……..”Wow that’s a new one, blue sky on Mars”.
After I heard that line, I was totally convinced that the story was happening in Quaid’s mind. Along with all the other elements of the film, it seems fairly obvious to me.
What do you all think of that?
I like that they kept it deliberately ambiguous as it leads to conversations like this. I actually wonder what Verhoeven is working on next, thinking about Total Recall again has made me want to watch Starship troopers and Robocop again…
lets hope for a new Verhoeven Sci-fi epic.
All I really have to say on the matter is “get your ass to Mars!!!”
A great Verhoeven related article on double viking today… “why real men love Robocop’
http://www.doubleviking.com/real-men-love-robocop-4074-p.html
Awesome. Yeah, the “blue sky on mars’ line takes place in the scene at Rekall with a lot of the best evidence that it’s a psychotic episode. I think the image of the girl is more powerful evidence though, cos a blue sky is a a blue sky but every girl is different!
Gotta watch Robocop again now…
The latest Verhoeven film is called Black Book. It’s a return to his Agent Orange days. Check out the trailer here:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/blackbook/large.html
‘Soldier of Orange’ is a great film…. Rutger Hauer was great in early verhoeven stuff, but the softcore porny stuff like ‘Turkish Delight’ do nothing for me though.
Black Book is a great film, a real return to form for him… I reviewed it here…
http://www.solaceincinema.com/2007/01/19/review-black-book/
Soldier of Orange! Thanks for the correction (it’s been a long time). Still haven’t see BB, but I think I’ll put it in the netflix queue right now…
Being married to Sharon Stone when she was hot and then delivering the line “consider that a divorce!” – he must have been dreaming. Great post. Great banter. Great film.