Andy's Archive: The Fly (1986)

Credit: 20th Century Fox

Each time I watch this I seem to discover a new layer, just like Jeff Goldblum's character of Seth Brundle has several stages of his transformation throughout the movie. During my first experience with The Fly, I felt like it was a bizarre and creepy dark comedy that was in a similar style to the early work of Tim Burton. Jeff Goldblum's weird mannerisms combined with a mullet and a descent into madness led me to believe this movie was just something to laugh at. Not to mention its a great display of practical movie effects which is what I love about movies of the 1980's.

I gained a greater appreciation for this movie after I saw the special features on the creation of the movie, so I returned for a second watch. That time The Fly struck me as a tragic love story and I was closer to what this movie is really about. When the movie starts, the characters played by Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum are already in the middle of a conversation, and I like how the movie thrusts you into their story. The two meet at a party, Seth is eager to show off his teleportation experiment, and it leads to chemistry between them. I don't think the chemistry would become quite what they expected as Seth didn't consider a variable in his experiment. Typically when a relationship reaches the end people part ways after an argument, they pack their bags, and never see the other person again. It's not because they've transformed into a giant insect, they just turned out to be an asshole. Seth's feelings for Ronnie are relatable; not because men have turned into a fly for the women we love, rather when we do dumb things in a moment of weakness. I've done what I thought had the best intentions, only it backfired and I looked like a creep. I also love to make references to this movie in conversations, not just because I enjoy the movie but I'm sure it creeps people out when its taken out of context. So perhaps I'm just a creep either way.

This current rewatch of The Fly showed me that it's also about losing one's identity. Seth Brundle has become lost in his work and teleports himself before his machine is even ready. He had only just begun to teach his computer about "the flesh", so after teleporting, is he still the same man who went through the teleporter? Or is he the computer's version of a man? We already know he's not himself so the clues that he is partially a fly are fun to watch unfold, if not very creepy. I had been told the changes in Seth are a metaphor for AIDS, and I even felt the loss of identity could be social commentary on joining the trends of the 80's and conforming. Yet when I tried to elaborate more, I felt I had lost my own identity and just copied the thoughts of another person's views on the deeper meaning of The Fly. That's just the beauty of this movie, that there is much to discover through each viewing and it's open to your own interpretation.