Equals

There were a lot of parts about this movie that I didn't like. I'm tempted to give it a 7. Then I remember the way that it affected me emotionally, and I have to bump up the score. It made me think, and made me very sad. I feel a little traumatized at this point, but for me, that's a good thing.

Equals is set in a futuristic world where, inexplicably, people have decided to "do away with emotions." Of course this phrase never has any real meaning, since any kind of inclination to do anything can be counted as an emotion. So really it's a sci-fi setting to explore the practice of the suppression of emotions. A problem which has never existed.

OK, before I trash the movie too much: the acting is fine, the set design and look are very good, and the world-building is excellent. But what is the story here? Two people who aren't supposed to fall in love do so anyway. Call me a cynic but I need more than that.

Compare and contrast Equals with The Lobster, another sci- fi/dystopian movie about suppressing emotions. Rather, The Lobster compares the societal demand that people form couples, regardless of how dysfunctional they are, against an underground movement of people who insist that being single should not be cause for rejection by society (though the rebels go too far the other way, adopting the "no emotional connections" attitude that fits with Equals). Somehow The Lobster manages to fit an interesting and funny story into the world. Equals? It gives us practically nothing.

Perhaps this is just a distillation of the concept of Forbidden Love. I really expected more.

We shan't be fooled - original ideas, concepts and scripts come by very rarely these days. Over the years I've come to accept that we shall not blatantly blame the creative team for the lack of some originality whether it is on similar premise, plot points, slight clichés, or visual styles. But when the final product is just a lazy mash up all the above, ripped off of arguably better previous films, as well as famed English literature at its most obvious, is just harder to swallow. If you ever watched Kurt Wimmer's Equilibrium and Michael Bay's the Island you have most certainly watched Doremus' Equals.

Pretentiously disguising the outright obvious rehash of ideas of a dystopian society where the inhabitants are deprived of different forms of freedom for the sake of a Utopian perfect society, with slower pacing, contemplating set up shots and heartfelt-advertising- like cinematography, we are left with a most forgetful film that never once introduces a single differentiating or provocative element.

I'll tell you what you need to know: if you like movies like this, you'll like this one. Maybe a whole lot. It's a science fiction movie with heart, that doesn't rely on explosions and death rays and warp speed travel, and it sheds light on things that are happening in our society today. The acting is very, very good. There is genuine chemistry between the leads, and they were both born to play these parts. The movie makes you think and feel. It's smart and it's deep. It's internally consistent. The soundtrack works. You can learn from it. There aren't anywhere near enough movies like this being made these days.

Some people hated this movie. A lot of times, I think people that hate a movie like this are people who don't like the fact that their own shortcomings are being exposed.

For me, when the movie ended, I experienced body-wide chills, and my eyes filled with tears. I loved it. I subtract a point because, from time to time, it moves a bit slower than it might need to. It's not quite an all time science fiction masterpiece, but it's close. It'll move you. You'll remember it. It'll give you something to talk about. It's a date movie you can both enjoy.

If you like movies like this, you know who you are, and you can't possibly miss this movie. You won't. You're too smart for that.

Throughout my entire first watching of the film I was left with the impression that this movie takes place in the same universe as Equilibrium. Same plot line. Same history. So instead of feeling like this movie is a copycat, I went with the idea that it is just another story line from the same time-line. This makes it easier to watch. That being said, this movie is basically just a string of recognizable ideas. I would never describe it as original, or surprising. It seemed like the love child of many different well-known stories. The movie was brilliantly filmed, however. And the main actors did a fantastic job. It was fun to watch from beginning to end; compelling, interesting, and emotionally moving. It is worth a watch.