It's LA in the future and people's memories of specific events are bought and sold on the black market. They're called "playback" and you "jack it" into your brain, ya dig? Scumbag Lenny (Ralph Fiennes) is a dealer of such druggy material but has a dear friend (Angela Bassett) who wants to see him clean up his life. However, he can't get over an ex-girlfriend (Juliette Lewis in a total Holy Shit performance) who is really wrapped up in the underworld and she holds the key to why a famous rapper has been murdered.
If any of that catches your attention so far, then dig in as Kathryn Bigelow, hot on the success of the magnificent Point Break, changes backdrops from the sunny beaches of Malibu to the gritty grime of downtown LA. The use of handhelds and production of action scenes in this movie is off the chart.. The story is a bit convoluted but never boring. Juliette Lewis' scenes fronting a rock band are to be seen to be believed, they're that good. That's not new ground for her of course but these scenes are stellar, not to mention her scene in Venice Beach.
Angela Bassett really shows off her physical skills in fight scenes and Tom Sizemore is his usual very enjoyable self as one of Lenny's friends. An outstanding sci-fi that was way ahead of it's time, highly recommend. Not available in the streaming world, just DVD. 3.5 stars/5
Updated 12-31-23 - Happy to report Strange Days is now available in the streaming world but only on Max or DirecTV.
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