He Can't Worry About A Past He Doesn't Know When His Present Is In Danger

Watching Mirage only a couple of weeks after Charade has been kind of interesting, in that I've somewhat reevaluated my opinion of Walter Matthau. When I was growing up, he was mostly in movies like Grumpy Old Men or Dennis the Menace, so my image of him was someone who plays crotchety old guys in comedies. And he isn't a completely serious character in either of these movies I've watched recently, but in both cases his character is definitely more clever than he appears, and doggedly persistent, which makes him either a strong ally, or a dangerous opponent.

As to Mirage, it stars Gregory Peck as a man who suddenly feels out of place. He's certain he's worked at Unidyne for the last 2 years as a 'cost accountant', but things don't fit. People he remembers well act as though they haven't seen him in forever. People he doesn't know act as though they know him well. Sub-basements seem to disappear. And everyone's telling him there's a "Major" expecting something of him, but he has no idea what.

Also, he can't recall anything past 2 years ago.

This is the sort of story idea that really appeals to me, where someone believes one thing about themselves, but finds everyone else insisting something different is the truth. It's what made me want to read I'm Not Stiller, even if I never articulated that in my review. Something about the difference between how people perceive the same thing, or the idea that reality is subjective, or highly malleable.

The movie makes an interesting choice in that Peck is most confused and concerned with all these people who act as though they know him and want something, but won't actually tell him what, than with the part of his life he's lost, and the why of that. That ends up being relevant to the plot, but it's an interesting choice, albeit an understandable one in-story, since some of these people who know him seem apt to kill him.

My favorite scene in the movie comes when Peck finds yet another person who could help him dead. Up to this point, he's mostly been confused, maybe a little irritated, both with himself for not remembering, and with the shadowy figures moving against him, who are trying to isolate him. At this point, it all boils over and he lays waste to the room, kicking in doors, throwing chairs, overturning furniture. He's well and truly fed up, dealing with people who won't just tell him what they want, and kill everyone who tries to help him.

There are a few things that don't add up, including why no one will tell him what's so important until the very end. Maybe the hired goons don't know, but it would have killed the Major to call him and say what he wants? Also, where did the woman who knew him go when she ran down the stairs during the blackout? Peck thought the she ran to at least sub-basement 4, but there was no sub-basement 4 in that building. And when he went down later and learned that, why was one of the hired goons in disguise in the boiler room? Did he think Peck would just randomly show up there, and if so, why did he stick to his act of being a maintenance guy or technician, or whatever? If he was supposed to keep Peck under observation, he picked a funny place to do that from.