Mute

2/23/18. Not too bad if you are into sci-fi movies. Shades of Bladerunner ambience made this a watchable film noirish murder mystery. Stellar cast lived up to their reputations.

In the near future, in Berlin, the Amish bartender Leo (Alexander Skarsgård) works in a bar with his beloved girlfriend Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh) and her gay friend Luba (Robert Sheehan). Leo is mute since he was a boy and had an accident in a lake. His mother, averse to technology, did not let Leo to be submitted to a corrective surgery since she believed God would heal him. Meanwhile, the American surgeons Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd) and Duck (Justin Theroux) work for the local gangsters. Cactus Bill has a daughter and dreams on returning to the United States, but he does not have documentation since he deserted the army. His hope is to get fake documents with the mobsters so that he can go back home. His partner Duck has documents but is a pedophile and likes to live in Berlin. When Naadirah vanishes without a trace, Leo seeks her out and goes to the underworld of Berlin, where his life entwines with Cactus Bill and Duck. Will he find his beloved Naadirah?

"Mute" is a disappointing film by the cult-director Duncan Jones. Despite the good acting and great music score and cinematography that recalls "Altered Carbon", the promising storyline fails mainly because of the messy screenplay and the uninteresting lead character. Most of the viewers certainly wants to like "Mute", but Leo does not help since it is an unattractive and annoying character. In the end credits, Duncan Jones dedicates this film to his father David "Bowie" Jones and to his beloved nanny Marion Skene, an incredible woman for caring for him as a toddler when his parents split. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Mudo" ("Mute")

If you are looking for an action movie, pass this one up. If you are interested in a suspenseful drama mystery that develops characters via story and slower moving story telling, then watch this. It was artfully done. The bad reviews are not telling. It is a moving story worth watching. I like the the futuristic sci fi setting with a mystery and suspense story and ending. Perhaps you will too. Time is taken to develop relationships and characters. My one criticism is the pacing. Yes it is slower than needs to be, but this does building in the suspense factor. The acting was superb. It was interesting to see actors we know in uncharacteristic roles.

What would have otherwise been a 4/10 movie is elevated by the 10/10 performances of Skarsgård, Rudd, and Theroux - with Rudd, in particular, like you've never experienced him.

Once you've waded through rehashed cyberpunk dystopia (for too long a stretch), this trio of characters might reward you by film's end, and in high Greco-Shakespearean fashion.

Not boring at all. If you read all those movies done is the past decade it is almost a rare gem, we enjoyed it until the end, new sci fi histories are rare to pace and this one is kind of good one. Congrats