Director: Drake Doremus
Distributor: eOne
Duration: 101 minutes
Equals (DVD) – Movie Review
Emotions are often considered a flaw, as these are uncontrollable, unpredictable and are often the reason for very dramatic events, but on the other side, emotions are also what makes us human. Even though many things can go wrong when someone is overly emotional, there are simply so many things that are beautiful simply because of it, such as love, friendship, humor and so on, which often make it worthwhile living. Nonetheless, today we are thrown in an advanced future society, where the Earth has suffered greatly, and the survivors are tasked with researching space exploration, all with having their emotions blocked at their birth. Those who show their emotions due to the inhibitors not working, are considered sick. An intriguing plot, but the emotional rollercoaster stayed grounded for most of the time.
Humanity has progressed to a point where pretty much all diseases are curable, such as cancer but even a common cold proves to be extinct. Humanity is focusing on their exploration of space now, as the Earth’s surface has been nearly completely destroyed, thus it seems it’s time to put our focus on other planets. Every remaining human being has their goal, their job and of course everyone is equal in this utopian picture. While the latter is certainly correct, the equality comes at a hefty price, as everyone is void of emotions. Even though sometimes people show a faint smile or wish others well, love, sadness, pain and so on are a thing of the past. Nonetheless, there are occasions where people have a sudden outburst of emotions, be it in different gradations, and according to the heads of society this is a disease called SOS. In most scenarios the patient will have to take medication to suppress their emotions, but at a later stage, they will be treated and offered a ‘peaceful’ death, or are advised to commit suicide, as they are no longer an ‘equal’.
Silas (Nicholas Hoult) is one of those people who suddenly starts ‘feeling’ things, and who immediately looks for help. He becomes a registered patient, but seeing he is only in stage one, he will just receive medication. Nonetheless, he notices peculiar behavior from one of his coworkers as well, Nia (Kristen Stewart) who denies there’s anything wrong with her, but it’s clear she’s lying. From here on out, both parties become intrigued with one another, even though society will condemn them, force them to take medication and in the long run, even terminate their lives.
The flow of the movie is rather slow, a lot slower than you’d initially expect. Of course, it was clear from the start that both main characters would start developing feelings in a world where emotions are considered taboo, but even so, the pacing sometimes feels off, or simply too slow to grab the attention of a wider audience. Those expecting a slow movie will certainly enjoy the emotionless ride, but even then, the movie sometimes lacks substance to fully do the original concept justice.
It’s amusing that Kristen Stewart is often portrayed as an emotionless actress that only knows one facial expression, a reputation that will probably haunt her for a long time, and that she now stars in a movie where the characters are void of emotions. Nonetheless, both her and her co-star, Nicholas Hoult do a great job in playing estranged human beings who unlock the feelings that are slowly surfacing within themselves.
This movie comes with no extras whatsoever, and we can’t blame the creators for not including any bonus content. While the typical deleted scenes, gag reels or even a making of would have been nice, the movie is more than clear enough on its own, rendering extra content rather useless.
Conclusion
Equals, on paper is a great idea for a movie, and cast wise things are quite good as well, but the flow of the movie and the overall slowness tend to mess things up. This doesn’t mean the movie is bad, on the contrary, but it will only reach a limited crowd, and those who are either looking for a story that shows us more about the futuristic society or a really romantic chick flick will be left wanting more. Nonetheless, the movie is certainly worth watching once, as it is a great concept, and the underlying story is not half that bad either.
Equals (DVD) - Movie Review,
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