Short Story / Movie comparison: Paycheck (Philip K. Dick blogathon)

I found Philip K. Dick’s short story Paycheck far more subtle and fascinating than the film. There are a number of differences. I will list a few examples. Jennings has only 7 items compared to 20; a code key, a ticket stub, a parcel receipt, a length of fine wire, half a poker chip, a green strip of cloth and a bus token. Out of those, only the code key and the bus token appear in the film. He refers to them as “trinkets” and describes them as his “pocketful of miracles, from someone who knew the future!”

In the film Jennings was a rich man after completing many jobs and memory wipes. In the story, no other jobs are mentioned and this is seemingly his first assignment. It lasts 2 years compared to the movies 3.

The character of Rachel has been invented for the film. In the short story there is a female character called Kelly who is a receptionist for the company. Jennings does turn to Kelly for help but she is not a love interest. I quite like the idea of Rachel, a woman he fell in love with while working for Rethrick but then forgets about when his memory is wiped. It also gives her a different motivation for wanting to help him and provides him with an ally he can trust.

In the story, Jennings tries to find Rethrick’s Plant, gain evidence of what he has been working on and blackmail him into letting him co-run the company. He has no safe place to go because the Security Police are after him and this is his only option. In the film he goes back to destroy what he helped to create because it has negative consequences for mankind and the police try to help him. But in the story it is the Government and the Security Police who are the bad guys, with their almost unlimited power and hold over the people, and Rethrick’s construction company are revolutionaries, trying to change the way things are.

The short story is more subtle and less flashy than the film. It has more sci-fi elements and is a lot more thought-provoking. The film takes the premise and tries to stretch it into an action film, adding in car chases and fight scenes. This unfortunately results in it detracting from the more interesting and provocative aspects of the story. If explored fully, these (and a vision of the future more akin to something like Blade Runner) would have resulted in a much more rewarding movie experience.

Review: Paycheck (Philip K. Dick blogathon)

Paycheck follows the character of Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck), a reverse engineer who carries out work for companies who want to copy and improve upon their rival’s technology. To maintain confidentiality, Jennings must have his memory wiped after each job is complete. These assignments usually last a couple of months at a time, after which he is given a big paycheck. Jennings’ life seems rosy until he meets with Rethrick, billionaire head of the Allcom company. Rethrick offers him an 8 figure sum for 3 years of his life, a paycheck too tempting to turn down.


Whatever you do, don't press the delete key


After the 3 years are up, Jennings goes to collect his payment, only to be told that he forfeited it and instead sent an envelope containing a number of (what appear to be) useless items . A ring, hairspray, matches, a crossword, a bus ticket, etc. It is only when he is arrested and interrogated by the police that he realises he can use some of these items to escape. Finding himself hunted by both the police and Rethrick’s men, he uses the random objects to stay one step ahead of them as he tries to work out what the job was that he did for Allcom.

This film has an interesting sci-fi premise but instead of taking the route of a thought-provoking, intelligent movie it decides to venture down the path of action and chase scenes. At times these feel weak and unimaginative, as if director John Woo has a checklist of things to include and tries to fit them in even if they don’t work well. It’s a far cry from my favourite of his films, Hard Target. At least he manages to include a few bits of slow-motion and a dove – motifs which instantly identify it as a John Woo movie.

Ben Affleck isn’t very convincing playing a brilliant engineer and I couldn’t help thinking that Uma Thurman’s character Rachel was Poison Ivy Mark II as a biologist with her room full of plants. Although, the fact that she is the love interest he has forgotten about after 3 years together is an interesting added element. She cares for him and thus provides a valuable ally, while he tries to remember her and falls in love with her all over again. Paul Giamatti was enjoyable as Jennings’ only friend, Aaron Eckhart plays evil billionaire Rethrick and the rest of the cast is rounded out with Joe Morton (Miles Dyson from Terminator 2) and Michael C. Hall (Dexter).

For a movie that is based on a Philip K. Dick short story, it doesn’t have quite the same effect as other adaptations such as Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report. In Paycheck the world seems strangely present-day for the most part. Maybe this was a choice made by the filmmakers in order to make it easier to relate to. But ultimately there are certain aspects that just don’t seem to gel. In the future, there are machines that can wipe your memory, but 3D holograms are new and exciting, and they also still use ordinary guns and BMW motorbikes (nice product placement by the way). It’s not the mind-blowing vision of the future that I think they could have made if they’d have followed the source material more closely and gone for a more subtle but effective approach.

Philip K. Dick movie blogathon

Everything is almost ready for me to kick off the blogathon I mentioned here a while ago. Over the next few months, I will review the eight English language films that have been adapted from Philip K. Dick novels or short stories and discuss their original source material. A ninth may be added if I get the chance to see The Adjustment Bureau before the blogathon is complete. Here is the list:

• Blade Runner (1982) - 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'
• Total Recall (1990) - 'We Can Remember It For You Wholesale'
• Screamers (1995) - 'Second Variety'
• Impostor (2001) - 'Impostor'
• Minority Report (2002) - 'The Minority Report'
• Paycheck (2003) - 'Paycheck'
• A Scanner Darkly (2006) - 'A Scanner Darkly'
• Next (2007) - 'The Golden Man'