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Matrix The Matrix (1999) is an extension of the existentialist motifs of the mid 20th Century set in the 23rd, for its obvious influences from the American Noir Style. This is apparent when looking at the five points of this existentialism. First, Thomas A. Anderson (Keanu Reeves), a.k.a. "Neo," is portrayed from the beginning of the film as a "normal Joe" who holds the potential of a world savior, yet without the narcissism. He does not have X-ray vision or the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but rather, he is a lowly computer programmer for a respectable computer company. He does not appear important to anyone else in the film at first, and it is because of his lifestyle. Mister Anderson is immersed in the world of computers. As a result, he is lonely and alienated from the world or "reality." This feeling is also reflected in the high, swooping camera angle found in the film, which is characteristically Noir. But what is reality? The truth? "Neo" makes the conscious choice to "see how deep the rabbit hole goes." One finds out later in the film that at the point of making such a choice, he was nothing... or nothing more than an oversized Energizer; but upon choosing the "truth" he is also trying to "free his mind" from the prison he cannot taste or touch or see. Neo is doomed to fail, as no one has come before him to succeed in the freeing of his own mind. As a result, he is under a sentence of death; the system is set up against him; the Matrix has him... he struggles with the choice between life and death, as he must let his instructor, Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne), die or sacrifice himself to save him. There is only one element holding his life in tact: Fate... At first, Mister Anderson does not like the idea of fate, as he cannot stand the idea of not being able to control his own destiny. Throughout the entire film, as Mister Anderson further transpires to his alter ego Neo, he struggles to accept the reality of his destiny. But something happens that makes Mister Anderson realize the authenticity of his destiny; he learns that he is, in fact, "the One" who is to save the world from Artificial Intelligence. No one can change their destiny if they do not realize that their pseudo-reality is a part of them. There are also other characteristics of a Noir film in the Matrix. The chiaroscuro lighting is very apparent in many scenes. Also, it invokes a great sense of alienation with its Noir-like high angle shots. The entire film is very dark and rainy. There are also many reflections, which are found in many Noir films, such as Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941).
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