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Dark Matter

  • 20072007
  • RR
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
Dark Matter (2007)
This is the theatrical trailer for Dark Matter, directed by Shi-Zheng Chen.
Play trailer2:04
1 Video
24 Photos
Drama
Based on actual events, a Chinese university student responds violently when his chances for a Nobel Prize are dashed by school politics.Based on actual events, a Chinese university student responds violently when his chances for a Nobel Prize are dashed by school politics.Based on actual events, a Chinese university student responds violently when his chances for a Nobel Prize are dashed by school politics.
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
    • Shi-Zheng Chen
    • Billy Shebar(screenplay)
    • Shi-Zheng Chen(story)
  • Stars
    • Meryl Streep
    • Ye Liu
    • Peng Chi
    • Shi-Zheng Chen
    • Billy Shebar(screenplay)
    • Shi-Zheng Chen(story)
  • Stars
    • Meryl Streep
    • Ye Liu
    • Peng Chi
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 46User reviews
    • 27Critic reviews
    • 49Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Dark Matter: Theatrical trailer
    Trailer 2:04
    Watch Dark Matter: Theatrical trailer

    Photos24

    Aidan Quinn in Dark Matter (2007)
    Meryl Streep in Dark Matter (2007)
    Meryl Streep and Ye Liu in Dark Matter (2007)
    Aidan Quinn and Ye Liu in Dark Matter (2007)
    Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, and Ye Liu at an event for Dark Matter (2007)
    Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, Ye Liu, and Shi-Zheng Chen at an event for Dark Matter (2007)
    Shi-Zheng Chen at an event for Dark Matter (2007)
    Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, Ye Liu, and Shi-Zheng Chen at an event for Dark Matter (2007)
    Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, and Ye Liu at an event for Dark Matter (2007)
    Aidan Quinn, Ye Liu, and Shi-Zheng Chen at an event for Dark Matter (2007)
    Aidan Quinn and Shi-Zheng Chen at an event for Dark Matter (2007)
    Ye Liu at an event for Dark Matter (2007)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Meryl Streep
    Meryl Streep
    • Joanna Silver
    Ye Liu
    Ye Liu
    • Liu Xing
    Peng Chi
    • Mama
    Aidan Quinn
    Aidan Quinn
    • Jacob Reiser
    Blair Brown
    Blair Brown
    • Hildy
    Yonggui Wang
    • Baba
    Lei Tsao
    • Zhang Ming
    Jing Shan
    • Wang Ying
    He Yu
    • Old Wu
    Bo Li
    • Little Square
    Boris McGiver
    Boris McGiver
    • Reverend Hollings
    Bill Irwin
    Bill Irwin
    • Hal Silver
    Hui Zhang
    • Monkey King
    Taylor Schilling
    Taylor Schilling
    • Jackie
    Joe Grifasi
    Joe Grifasi
    • Professor Colby
    Rob Campbell
    Rob Campbell
    • Gary Small
    Jodi Russell
    Jodi Russell
    • Claire Reiser
    Erick Avari
    Erick Avari
    • Professor R.K. Gazda
      • Shi-Zheng Chen
      • Billy Shebar(screenplay) (story)
      • Shi-Zheng Chen(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Dark Matter

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The events in this movie are loosely based on a shooting that occurred in 1991 on the Iowa City campus of the University of Iowa. The shooter, 28-year-old physicist Gang Lu, had recently received his PhD from the university's Physics and Astronomy Department, but believed that his failure to win a dissertation prize had kept him from getting a job as a professor. On November 1, 1991, he attended a departmental meeting, and shortly after the meeting started he shot three of his former professors and the winner of the prize he had wanted. He then walked to a different campus building and shot an administrator whom he felt had ignored his grievances, as well as a student employee in the grievance office. Gang Lu then committed suicide by shooting himself. All of the shooting victims died from their wounds except for the student employee, who was paralyzed from the neck down. She later died from inflammatory breast cancer, brought on by the condition of her paralyzation.
    • Quotes

      Joanna Silver: [quoting her mother] Worry is interest paid on trouble that hasn't happened yet. So don't worry.

    • Crazy credits
      Still Photographer Matthew Margolin and Additional Still Photographer Tyler Meiners are listed twice during the end credit roll.
    • Soundtracks
      Serenade
      performed by the 'Beijing Angelic Choir'

    User reviews46

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Better Than Average Fantasy Thriller - Dark Matter
    This film is NOT based on actual events. It is very loosely based on the events of Iowa University graduate student Gang Lu, who suffered from an array of psychological disorders in addition to being a very gifted student in physics. The character portrayed in this film is completely fictitious on a number of different levels. One can dismiss the Nobel Prize angle immediately. Neither the real life Gang or this film character would have been nominated. The Nobel Prize committee never accepts a grad student as a candidate. Also, this is not really a prestigious school; most of the better students in the area of the physical sciences either attend an Ivy League graduate program, Stanford, or MIT, not Iowa University. So in these two instances, the film is not realistic in its screenplay. It is still good fiction, however, and should be judged for its emotional content and ability to keep you glued to your seat. It was tragic what happened to both Gang and to the protagonist in this film, but it is just a movie, and not real life. Winning a minor $2500 prize at a second-rate university is not the same as being nominated for the Nobel Prize. Making comparisons to Gang is not being honest; this character had a sweet and loving personality with no visible signs of mental illness, while Gang was just the opposite. That this person would commit the same acts that Gang committed with the upbringing and personality traits that Liu Xing has in the film is highly unlikely. Another university (hopefully one far more prestigious) would have snapped him up in a New York minute for their research staff. That is assuming his material was accurate as displayed in the film. Major universities get larger federal grants based on their researchers in many instances, so he would have been a sought-after commodity at several top schools. The writers of the screenplay do not seem to understand the mechanics of the American graduate school system and how it relates to research and funding. But despite that, the story, acting and production values still make this a worthwhile film to view.
    helpful•0
    3
    • arthur_tafero
    • Oct 14, 2019

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 24, 2008 (Singapore)
      • United States
      • Mandarin
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Orem, Utah, USA
    • Production companies
      • Saltmill
      • Janet Yang Productions
      • Myriad Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 28 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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