Blog Directory CineVerse: The downsides to trading up

The downsides to trading up

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Released at the height of the Cold War in 1966, Seconds is a unique psychological thriller directed by John Frankenheimer that can still resonate with modern audiences in a world where innovative technologies can offer exciting—and frightening—new possibilities. Notable for its unsettling take on themes of identity, existential crisis, and the pressures of modern life, the film follows Arthur Hamilton, a dissatisfied middle-aged man, who is approached by an enigmatic group that offers him a chance to erase his old existence and begin anew by undergoing a complete physical transformation. After assuming the identity of the younger, more successful Tony Wilson, played by Rock Hudson, Hamilton initially enjoys his new life. However, he soon discovers that this fresh start comes with a heavy and frightening price.

To listen to a recording of our CineVerse group discussion of Seconds, click here.


Seconds is overwhelmingly dark and pessimistic, even for the Cold War era, with an especially downbeat conclusion. There is no tacked-on happy ending here. This is a film that attempts to expose the myths and lies behind the pursuit of the American dream and the search for physical perfectionism—at a time when advertising and popular culture emphasized physical beauty, materialism, and sex appeal.

The visuals are creative, memorable, and unsettling, particularly the distorted shots achieved by master cinematographer James Wong Howe, who uses fish eye lenses, distorted and wide angles, giant close-ups of blank, soulless faces, POV shots, tracking shots following heads and feet, jump cuts and other techniques to achieve a disturbing visual tapestry.

Frankenheimer's direction builds on his earlier work with themes of conspiracy, dread, and control, evident in films like The Manchurian Candidate and Seven Days in May. Though Seconds was not a commercial hit upon release, it has since garnered a devoted following and is now considered a significant piece of existential and dystopian cinema.

Why did audiences reject Seconds back in 1966? Perhaps because it cast Rock Hudson against type: Viewers were used to seeing him in romantic comedies, after all. Additionally, the film mixes several different genres into one: science fiction, horror, psychological thriller, noir, cautionary tale, and fantasy. Possibly this ambitious blending was ahead of its time and too off-putting to viewers in the mid-1960s. Consider, too, that the filmmakers chose to shoot in black and white vs. color, at a time when the former was decidedly less popular. The distorted, haunting monochrome imagery, bleak message, and dark tone may have been too overwhelming and depressing for contemporary moviegoers.

Seconds emphasizes distortion—as exemplified through the skewed visuals and warped shots—and disillusionment, suggesting that what we think will make us happy and fulfilled may be a lie. Is true happiness and self-fulfillment possible? Or do we always crave more?

Above all, this is a cautionary tale, a “be careful what you wish for” allegory. If you think your life is bad, it could always be worse. Seconds is also concerned with resurrection and rebirth (ironically, in this resurrection, the body is perfected but the soul remains dead), distrust of technology (technology should be in our control, but this film argues the opposite), and, most importantly, the fallacy of the American dream. Frankenheimer had said, in interviews, about this film: “When we talk about life, my philosophy is that you have to live your life the way it is. You can change it, but you can’t change who you are or what you’ve done before. And you have to live with that. I think that point was very well brought out in Seconds—that’s what the film is all about.”

Criterion Collection essayist David Sterritt pushes this message of existential angst even further, writing that “Seconds was (Frankenheimer’s) outcry ‘against ‘the Dream,’ the belief that all you need to do in life is to be financially successful. He saw the film as ‘a matter-of-fact yet horrifying portrait of big business that will do anything for anybody, provided you are willing to pay for it.’ It expressed his contempt for ‘all this nonsense in society that we must be forever young, this accent on youth in advertising and thinking.’”

Similar works

  • Frankenstein
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers
  • Faust
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray
  • The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
  • Several episodes of The Twilight Zone, including The Trade-Ins
  • Hollow Triumph
  • Eyes Without a Face
  • The Stepford Wives
  • The Face of Another
  • Shock Corridor
  • Carnival of Souls
  • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Other films directed by John Frankenheimer

  • The Birdman of Alcatraz
  • The Manchurian Candidate
  • Seven Days in May
  • Black Sunday
  • Ronin

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