Los Angeles November, 2019

The last few months have been pretty surreal for me. It's been a crazy whirlwind of new experiences, emotions, settings and people all in a very short period of time.

After wrapping up post on Roses and graduating from Vancouver Film School in British Columbia, I moved down south to Los Angeles, California to start working. Over the last three months I've been networking with other filmmakers, picking up small film jobs where I can and trying to make ends meet while I still have momentum from school behind me.

When I first got to the city, I almost thought I was dreaming. I had actually make the trek out to Southern California. Earlier that summer, Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" came out and I had seen about four times before arriving in LA. Driving around and noticing all the same historic landmarks, studio buildings and filming locations had me floored with awe. This was the place where so many films had been made or taken place. It was Hollywood. The film capital of North America, and maybe even the world. And I was there. And to top it all off, it was November 2019.

November 2019 might not seem like a big deal, but if you're a Blade Runner fan like myself than it is. Ridley Scott's 1982 science fiction masterpiece has influenced me heavily as a filmmaker. The film takes place in the cyberpunk, futuristic world of Los Angeles, November 2019. Now that we are here, should we compare our current world to the world of Blade Runner? Elon Musk says we aren't too far off...

I would have to be a dense, selfish person to not give tribute to one of my favorite films while living at the time and place that it took place in. Today I'd like to take an in depth look at...

Disclaimer: referring to the 2007 Final Cut of Blade Runner.

As a filmmaker, I must first give my praise to the impeccable craft and quality behind the scenes of Blade Runner. Jordan Cronenweth's cinematography and lighting is masterful, Vangelis' score is iconic, the adaptation from Dick's novel by Fancher and Peoples is amazing and Lawrence G. Paull's Production Design literally set the stage for the entire cyberpunk genre. It also broke new ground with it's (for the time) cutting edge special effects and practical set pieces.

And I can't say enough about the cast. Daryl Hannah's first major film role, Sean Young and (arguably) Harrison Ford at the height of their careers, Joe Turkel coming hot off doing The Shining with Kubrick and man... Rutger Hauer... man... possibly the best performance of the entire decade. A cast that became total legends of cinema.

But let's be honest: what more is there to say about this film? Blade Runner has been analyzed, scrutinized and picked apart by fans for years and is still to this day. Should I add to the pile of analysis and scrutiny that already rests on this movie? It's so deep and has so many layers, but over the years fans have discovered these layers and talked about them endlessly.

I re-watched the film twice this last month, searching for something new. I'm guilty myself of over-analyzing the movie and trying to understand it, so trying to find something new here was hard. I even came across this video that struck all the key chords of the film beautifully, and I highly recommend you watch it:

But the video and most of my initial findings failed to delve into one topic: Rick Deckard and his motivation as a character. It's a tough topic to talk about, as we know very little about Deckard and his character is portrayed as somewhat of an enigma (which is partly what makes him so interesting). It would be pointless to talk about whether or not he is a replicant, as that discussion has been going on already for years. I'm more interested in Deckard's moral quest in the film. What is he looking for?

Deckard obviously has very low morals. He basically kills runaway slaves for a living, or rather used to. At the start of Blade Runner he is retired, living in a dark and rainy Los Angeles looking up to the new life awaiting him in the off world colonies. Deckard wants a better future for himself, but under his current circumstances he doesn't see a way out. His boss, Bryant, even forces him to come back to work as a Blade Runner.

"No choice, pal."

In typical Film Noir fashion, we soon meet the femme fatale of the film: Rachel, a new replicant model with implanted memories to give her an "emotional cushion". This is where things change for Deckard and, as my found through more analysis, where he discovers his moral quest. At first, his attitude towards replicants was bitter and unsympathetic.

"Replicants are like any other machine, they're either a benefit or a hazard. If they're a benefit, it's not my problem."

But after meeting Rachel and watching her emotional reaction to her self-discovery, Deckard starts to re-think his values as a Blade Runner and his perspective on replicants. It starts to affect him on a deeper level, and the Deckard that Bryant once knew and re-hired isn't suddenly as good as he used to be. He has increasing difficulty killing the runaway replicants as the film goes on, drinking heavily to cope with the murderous nature that comes with his job. Rick is bested by almost every single replicant he comes across, even up to the very end only for Roy Batty to spare his life in beautiful, poetic fashion.

Which leads me to my favorite moment, possibly everyone's favorite moment and the most definitive scene in the entire film: Roy's monologue. After saving Deckard's life Roy quietly accepts his own death and passes on, taking with him all of his unique emotions, memories and experiences. It forever changes Deckard and it is here that he reaches the end of his moral quest: a search for purpose and a reason to live on. Even when faced with the idea that he is a replicant himself, Deckard is still driven to run away with Rachel and live out what time they have left together.

All of this analysis on Blade Runner and Rick Deckard has made me reflect on myself and my own purpose. I'm here, in Los Angeles, in November 2019. Am I stuck like Deckard is at the beginning of the film, "retired" and getting half of what I really want at the noodle shop downstairs? Or am I like Deckard at the end, embracing the uncertain future and whatever consequences or blessings it may bring? I'd like to say I'm the latter, but only hard work and time will tell.

Thank you so very much for reading. I love Blade Runner and everything about this movie. If you haven't seen it or the amazing sequel, Blade Runner 2049, you should watch them now! Until next time...

- morgan