Somebody told me that I am Legend was about this zombie plague that swept earth. Ummm, yeah. Didn't sound like something I wanted to see. Somebody else said Will Smith was acting. Pursuit of Happyness was pretty good. So I went.
Legend is about loneliness. True, the film creates plenty of suspense. The camera's point of view seems like the point of view of somebody external to Neville (the main character.) Because he is the last sane inhabitant in a mostly abandoned New York, you keep expecting the camera to see something that Neville doesn't. Something startling to crank up the suspense. But you never do. Instead you gradually see more and more of the picture through successive flashbacks. But while the suspense mounts for the audience, that tension is coming to understand Neville's position rather than setting you up to watch him get it. The shots, while having a creepy third person feel, are a reflection of how Neville feels watched rather than you knowing something he doesn't.
At one point you see Neville fearfully searching for his dog in the dark. There's evidence that something else is there but he pushes on. Eventually you realize Neville doesn't fear for his life. Rather he is terrified of losing his last friend in the world.
That scene shifted my perspective. The film went from horror to drama: watching a man doggedly grasping what is left of his faith, his civilization and finally his family as they tear away from him piece by piece. The eerie is not eerie just to terrify the audience: rather each event becomes an obstacle to the protagonist, to be explained and overcome.
Even though the camera follows Neville, bits and pieces in the background hint at things that Neville must ignore. The camera never focuses on those hints but the audience sees them. A plaintive piece of graffiti reads "God still loves us." Newspaper clippings report mass graves. Neville traps a victim, but then is caught the same way. The climax gains a note of tragedy for the audience.
The final voice-over establishes that the point of view throughout was history looking at Neville's efforts. However "documentary" and "heroic" are a tough mix. Legend had potential to exceed the title of 'just a zombie flick' and kind of got there. It's definitely more action than a Shyamalan film but has more pathos than an action flick.
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I thought this movie was really interesting, and I agree that it was foremost about loneliness. Being a Microbiology major I really wished they had gotten into the details of the virus more. A lot of what they said definitely didn't make sense scientifically, but we can all identify with some of Neville's feelings.
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