The Net is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by Irwin Winkler and starring Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam, and Dennis Miller. Written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, the film follows Angela Bennett (Bullock), a reclusive computer systems analyst whose identity is erased after she discovers a backdoor in a widely used computer-security system. Columbia Pictures released the film in the United States on July 28, 1995.
The film was developed during a period when Hollywood studios were increasingly interested in stories involving the Internet and computer technology. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $110.6 million worldwide against a production budget of $22 million.
Contents
Plot
United States Under Secretary of Defense Michael Bergstrom commits suicide after being informed that he has tested positive for HIV. The test result has been deliberately altered by the Praetorians, a group of cybercriminals working for software entrepreneur Jeff Gregg, because Bergstrom opposes the government's adoption of Gregg Microsystems' Gatekeeper security system.
Angela Bennett, a reclusive freelance systems analyst, lives in Venice, California, and works remotely for Cathedral Software in San Francisco. She has few personal relationships: most of her professional and social interactions take place by telephone or online, while her mother, who has Alzheimer's disease, lives in an institution and frequently fails to recognize her.
Angela's colleague Dale Hessman sends her a floppy disk containing the website of the fictional band "Mozart's Ghost". The disk also contains a hidden backdoor, identified by the Greek letter π, that provides access to Gatekeeper, a computer-security system developed by Gregg Microsystems. Angela and Dale arrange to meet the following day, but Dale's aircraft crashes and he is killed.
While vacationing in Cozumel, Mexico, Angela meets Jack Devlin, who seduces her and then arranges for a robber to steal her purse. Devlin kills the robber after recovering the disk from the purse and then takes Angela onto his boat with the intention of killing her. Angela escapes after finding Devlin's gun, but her dinghy strikes rocks and she loses consciousness.
Three days later, Angela discovers that the disk has been damaged and that her identity has been replaced in computer records by that of Ruth Marx, a woman with a criminal record. Her home has been emptied, and her neighbors cannot confirm that she is Angela Bennett. When Angela calls Cathedral Software, a woman using her identity answers the telephone. The woman offers to restore Angela's former life in exchange for the disk.
Angela contacts Alan Champion, a psychiatrist and former lover who is the only person she knows who can identify her. Champion arranges for her to stay in a hotel and attempts to contact an FBI friend. Angela subsequently uses information found in Devlin's wallet, together with the Gatekeeper backdoor, to access the computers at Bethesda Naval Hospital. She discovers evidence that Bergstrom's HIV test was falsified.
Production
Development and casting
The Net was directed by Irwin Winkler from a screenplay by John Brancato and Michael Ferris. Winkler and Rob Cowan produced the film, with Jack N. Green as cinematographer, Richard Halsey as editor, and Mark Isham as composer.
Bullock actively pursued the lead role after becoming interested in the project. In a 1995 interview with Vanity Fair, Winkler recalled that Bullock's agent arranged their first meeting and that he was initially uncertain about making the film. Bullock subsequently became attached to the project. In October 1994, Bullock committed to filming the picture.
Filming
Principal photography began in January 1995 and continued through April. The production filmed in California, including Venice, Santa Monica, and San Francisco, as well as in Washington, D.C.
The production filmed at San Francisco's Moscone Center on January 5, 1995, during Macworld. The filmmakers used the real trade show and temporarily replaced its signage for the movie. The production was noted in contemporary coverage of the growing number of Hollywood projects using the Internet and computer culture as subject matter.
Other filming locations included a residence on 28th Avenue in Venice, a hotel on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, and locations in Washington, D.C. The production also filmed exterior scenes at McKesson Plaza in San Francisco.
Release
The Net was released theatrically in the United States on July 28, 1995. Columbia Pictures distributed the film. It was rated PG-13 for violence, some sexuality, and brief strong language.
The film opened in 1,906 theaters and earned $10,037,745 during its opening weekend in the United States and Canada. It ultimately grossed $50,727,965 domestically and $59.9 million in international markets, for a worldwide total of $110,627,965.
Reception
Critical response
The Net received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 44% of 59 critics' reviews were positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The site's consensus states: "The premise isn't without potential and Sandra Bullock is as likable as ever, but The Net lacks sufficient thrills – or plausible plot points – to recommend catching." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100 based on 22 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three out of four stars. He compared its premise to the Alfred Hitchcock tradition of an innocent person being wrongly accused, describing the plot as contrived but praising Bullock for making the character seem convincing and sympathetic. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly also praised Bullock's performance, calling the film an "efficient, workmanlike thriller" and noting its use of computer-age anxieties.
Caryn James of The New York Times found the film's premise resonant and described it as an "enjoyably creepy thriller", while criticizing Irwin Winkler's overt directing style. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called it a strong suspense thriller but argued that it could have been more frightening and criticized the film's pacing. By contrast, Hal Hinson of The Washington Post criticized the conventional story and said the film was an unfavorable showcase for Bullock compared with Speed.
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
Home media
The Net was released on VHS by Columbia TriStar Home Video in January 1996. It subsequently became the 10th most-rented film in the United States for 1996.
Legacy
The film's premise became associated with the growing popular interest in Internet security and digital identity during the mid-1990s. Contemporary coverage identified The Net as one of several Hollywood productions responding to the emergence of the Internet as a setting for thrillers.
Adaptations and sequel
Television series
A television series based on the film premiered on the USA Network in July 1998. Brooke Langton played Angela Bennett, the role originated by Bullock. The series ran for one season and 22 episodes before ending in 1999.
The Net 2.0
A standalone sequel, The Net 2.0, was directed by Charles Winkler, Irwin Winkler's son, and produced and written by Rob Cowan. Nikki DeLoach starred as Hope Cassidy, a computer systems analyst who travels to Istanbul for a new job and discovers that her identity has been stolen. The film was released for home video in 2006.
