Wenchwatches: D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)

This was one of my favorite films as a little kid, and one I learned to operate the VCR in order to watch it. One of my first memories was in fact doodling things from this film.

And it just happens to be I have this one is in.....widescreen? Kinda?

It's not our old nemesis 4x3 Letterboxed, but 2.28:1 letterboxed to 16:9. The original film must have been in something like Cinemascope to have such as particular aspect ratio.

The film starts off in media res, a chase sequence between a car and a helicopter somewhere in Oregon. After a boy escapes the car, the car continues as a diversion for the helicopter. It's not the car or it's driver they were after...

The intro is a classic way to start a film, since it lets you *show* not tell. The way the film just...continues on leaves the questions lingering in the audience's mind too, creating a point of tension without needing the have tension or conflict in the first act.

I didn't go into this much during the original thread on Fedi, but the character of Turtle gets under my skin now in ways he didn't at all when I was little. At the time, the casual misogyny and sex-shaming was supposed to be humorous, but he. just. keeps. doing. it. I can only imagine this was mostly a joke for the parents watching the film, rather than kids. In 2024, however, it rankles.

So, Pole Position is a plot point in the first act. Daryl plays it on a home computer (I couldn't make out which kind, sadly).

While kinda hokey today, as Daryl plays the game it gets faster and faster, to an impossibly fast speed. It's an old film trick, of course. The game is still played at regular speed, but the camera is run slowly. By intercutting with actors at regular speed reacting to the effect, we're given suspension of disbelief.

A different trick is played while Daryl is playing baseball. If you watch carefully, you'll see the cut made between when Daryl hits the ball, and it descends from above the camera frame to nearly hit the house.

Of course, this wasn't one continuous cut, but several put together to create the sequence. Once again, this is all basic movie-making, and utterly unremarkable.

So why am I remarking on it? Because this was one of my first movies. And because the tricks are so simple and straightforward it becomes a kind of education to filmmaking itself.

The baseball game really closes the first act. It even ends on a literal freeze frame, and you expect for a moment the credits to roll.

Instead, the story continues. Throughout the first act we've been establishing Daryl's abilities, but also his complete lack of knowledge of the world around him. An 80s kid not knowing baseball!? Who is this kid!?

Well, we're about to find out. Now that we're familiar with and invested in Daryl's foster family, his "real" parents appear, ready to take him home. While there's nothing about them or their demeanor which should give us cause for concern, it's the subtle queues of the film instead, the tone of the music, the framing of the shots, and of course, Daryl's reactions.

The movie doesn't waste any time letting us know what's up. Of course Daryl isn't a normal kid, and those really aren't her parents.

He's a science experiment: Data Anaylising Robot Youth LIfeform. D.A.R.Y.L. That's right, the kid's a robot and the "parents" are really the scientists in charge of his development.

AND EVEN BETTER, HE'S A MILITARY-FUNDED ROBOT.

Yech.

The film alludes to Daryl not being "entirely human", so the suggestion is that he's likely a cyborg with a computer for a brain.

Normally, you'd expect a film like this to have both the foster parents and Daryl trying to reunite. Instead, the second act invites them over, one of the doctors arraigning the reunion.

So what's the conflict for the third act?

Well, those military guys aren't so thrilled about their top secret project going for a walk...

The point of the second act is two-fold, reveal Daryl's nature, and also reveal it to his foster parents. It also sets up the emotional destination point for the end of the film. Daryl wants to get back to his foster parents, that life he had in the first act.

As a result, a lot of the third act is a chase sequence. And not a bad one either. While the car stuntwork is basic by today's standards, it's not bad for a $10m film in 1985. It's exciting enough for family film of the era.

And ends with a gunshot.

Of the scientists who created Daryl is fatally shot while trying to escape capture by the state police.

There's a great scene where as he dies in a wooded field, he implores to Daryl, while not human, he is "a real person".

I have a lot of empathy for machines. I tend to approach them by role playing as them. Watching this film, it's easy to see where I got that from.

One of the film's signature moments is in the fourth act: the theft of the spy plane. Is it preposterous? Of course it is, but it is an excellent Crowning Moment of Awesome if you're a kid watching this film in the 80s.

Just before the military self-destructs the plane Daryl ejects, landing in a lake. I always found it odd that Daryl doesn't try to free himself from the ejection seat.

On this rewatch, it finally clicks -- he's doing this intentionally. He needs to fake his own death so his foster family won't be pursued by the military.

This film is....nothing special. The acting is basic. It stars no one you're likely to recognize. The emotional payoff is nice, but not unexpected. "Basic" describes much of the film, honestly.

Even the concept of a kid-who's-a-computer isn't even new. The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes predates this film handily. Still, it's an enjoyable little film that doesn't warrant much consideration even from my amateur critique.

It's more special to *me*, and that's enough.

Take it or leave it.