In the original “Matrix” movie, we learn that humans abhor perfection, as evidenced by their rejection of the flawless simulated reality created for them by the machines. Well, things have certainly changed in the future because the virtual world-within-a-world featured in the franchise’s 2021 follow-up, “The Matrix Resurrections,” is nothing short of idyllic!
Set in San Francisco 60 years after the events of the last film, the long-awaited fourth installment, which hit theaters and HBO Max last December, sees Neo (Keanu Reeves) living in the Matrix as Thomas Anderson, “the greatest video game designer of our generation.” The simulated world he is unknowingly trapped inside isn’t the muted, green-tinged, blue-less version presented in the initial trilogy, though, but one that is far sharper, richer and more vivid.
The flick’s “poppy” and “more colorful aesthetic,” according to production designer Peter Walpole, was directly inspired by the City by the Bay, namely “the architecture, and the light, and the extraordinary movement of the San Francisco fog.” Nowhere is that more apparent than in the striking seaside building chosen to portray the home and office of The Analyst (Neil Patrick Harris), Thomas’ blue-pill-pushing therapist.
Known as the Russian Hill Summit in real life, the fashionable six-unit complex, which sits at the end of a quaint cul-de-sac overlooking San Francisco Bay, the downtown skyline and the Bay Bridge, is pretty much the epitome of a Golden Gate residence.
And there is exciting news for fans of “The Matrix” and the city alike, as the exact unit used in the movie is now for sale! Located at 1039 Vallejo St. in tony Russian Hill, the chic townhouse is being offered for $4.2 million. (Fun fact – the Verdier Mansion, which figured prominently in the second season of “The OA,” can be found right next door at 1001 Vallejo St.) Repped by mother-and-son team David Werboff and Caroline Kahn Werboff of Sotheby’s International Realty, the listing marks the first time the property has been up for grabs since it sold to its original owners for $1,895,000 shortly after it was built in 1998. (Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.)