Note: There are no spoilers in this review. None at all. I promise.

The other night, I had a discussion with a stage director about Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, and the effect it’s had on audiences since its release. Godot, for those outside of the theater circle, debuted in 1953 and has become a cornerstone for surrealist modern drama - as it depicts only the act of waiting (what directors and actors call the most ‘drastic’ ultimate action on stage) and leaves its audience to try and find some resolution to the two characters’ malaise. The audience could do nothing but wait. It’s the dawn of 2008, and producer J.J. Abrams has all possible technologies available on the table. His latest presentation, Cloverfield, is about as relentless as Beckett’s play in its execution. Through a guerilla marketing buzz that’s garnered the attention of YouTubers and the Blogosphere by storm, Cloverfield is - in essence - a monster movie. Now, we’ve seen our fair share of Godzilla’s and Reign of Fire’s in our time, but what sets apart Abrams’ and director Matt Reeves’ vision is its airtight camerawork, its recognition of a sensitive post-9/11 America, and lack of cheap scares. The final cut isn’t perfect - too many characters, so little personality - but it works, and more importantly, it feels authentic.

Manhattan, May 23rd. Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) is moving to Japan to become president of a company. His brother Jason (Mike Vogel) and Jason’s girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas) have planned an enormous surprise going-away party at his apartment for the night. Rob appreciates the gesture, but he’s been meaning to patch things up with his old flame Beth (Odette Yustman) before he leaves. When she shows up at the party with another guy, he falls into a slump. The video-camera (the only point-of-view available in Cloverfield) has been passed on between Jason and mutual friend Hud (T.J. Miller), who has been using it to document and investigate all the happenings at the party. Boom. The lights go out. The building shakes. An oil tanker capsizes near Ellis Island. Everybody at the party goes outside to check out the scene. The Statue of Liberty’s head comes hurling down the street, the Empire State Building crumbles, and chaos ensues. Meanwhile, Rob, Jason, Lily, Hud, and Hud’s catch of the night Marlena (Lizzy Caplan) must find a way off of the isle to safety. But not before Rob can find where Beth is, patch things up, and then make their way out of the city.

Abrams and Reeves made an intelligent choice with choosing unknown actors for main characters; but when the audience never feels like they truly connected with any of them, it’s hard to really say the idea worked. Michael Stahl-David is our protagonist - handsome yuppie material living in a NYC high-rise with a promotion on the way. He, along with T.J. Miller, gives the most valiant efforts to keep in touch with the audience. They could just be disposable actors in a Halloween sequel, but their improvisational delivery gives the movie a nice touch. Since the production team is trying to stuff a lot of material into an 80-minute movie, the audience is forced to give characters some leeway in draining their emotions. Sometimes the dialogue feels too real, which is never a bad thing. Odette Yustman is attractive, but is exploited as a beautiful MacGuffin.

For those expecting some sort of Blair Witch disappointment, don’t. There is a monster…ok, I’ll spill some beans, there’s multiple monsters. And you will see them, quite often - and they’re plenty more threatening than that big ugly green mess that came around in 1998 (oh, what was its name…) But where the movie deserves its appraisal is its camerawork. In the past, I’ve criticized directors (Tony Scott and Fernando Mereilles, to name a few) for using jerky and shaky camera movements along with gritty filters to give an undeserved sense of realism to their films. But Cloverfield is supposed to be based in realism, and is poised to touch the nerves of the typical sensitive American audience who may still recall the events of September 11th very vividly. That’s where Reeves doesn’t fail - the audience can’t move away from the danger, are strapped to their seats when the camera witnesses the destruction of an American metropolis. We’re never safe from the gaze of this little camcorder. Like Beckett, we keep waiting and waiting - and when it happens - it’s an experience. That’s all any moviegoer could want in a movie, and it’s a fantastic thing.

Lacking any sort of musical score, it’s the thunderous screeches of the monster and the crumbling of Broadway that the audience must generate tension from. In this respect, Cloverfield is a fascinating film. Whether or not its ending was meant to insinuate some sort of socio-political message, the final product is a satisfying and entertaining alternative to anything coming out in the next two months.