Amelia 2.0

Amelia has a debilitating illness, her mind works well but her body is quickly becoming non-functional. At the same time a technology company in Cedar Rapids is working on a far out project, the intent is to take a mind like Amelia's and place it into a constructed body. Married only a few months, her loving husband is mostly at a loss for what to do. But convinced it is his only chance to remain with Amelia he signs all the paperwork and the conversion begins.

The science and technology is secondary here, our own logic says this can never happen but who really knows? This movie is more concerned with the ethics of doing something like this. Do we have souls? And would a soul remain with this type of hybrid? Would the far right evangelical politicians move to prevent this type of work? If the conversion is successful would the husband (or wife) be able to accept this new being?

Good watch, it makes you think, and overall it is very well made and acted. At home on DVD from my public library, my wife skipped, not her type of movie.

All in all, please just suspend disbelief. Doesn't get into the technical aspects of creating a simulacrum, but instead goes more after the moral implications of doing so. The choices are more on the order of black or white, not really much in between. And leave out the husband. He's there, and not really all that sympathetic, or quite mentally stable. Likely could have been better, but it seems to be more about moralizing than much else. The omnipresent, "if we can do it, should we?"

This was a movie made on a low budget, and I feel they did a fantastic job. I feel the strongest acting came from the supporting roles, but overall, great acting. Some people classify this as a science fiction movie, which it is, however, I feel the underlying message of love and existence and morality is what is meant to be delivered through the science fiction setting. It really does inspire you to think about which side of the issue you stand on. In my case, I changed my viewpoint a few different times throughout the movie. I felt the sound design could have use a little more support and a little slow-going in the first 10 minutes or so of the movie, but I would watch this movie again, and recommend it to my friends. Hats off to everyone involved in making this film. You all did a fantastic job.

Though set in a science fiction format, this movie centers on a deeply loving newlywed couple overcome by tragedy and how the husband deals with this issue. In his grief, he agrees to the plans of a corporate giant in the remote hope of "curing" his wife's terminal condition.

Technically, the film is state of the art with some obvious exceptions. Note the aerial view of the corporate campus looking quite cartoonish, like an architectural drawing or SimCity home computer creation.

The flow of action was quite uneven, spending long moments in philosophical discussions while skimming over the scientific elements of the story (the "how it was done" aspects). The ending was quite disturbing to me and didn't seem possible, given modern corporate security methods. It appeared that the film was running out of time (or money) and ended quite abruptly in poetry and bucolic bliss.

This is an interesting movie about the potential effects of technology on humans. It's great to see some original subject matter in these days of comic book retreads and franchises! The cast does a fine job and it really does make you think about life and humanity. Thoroughly enjoyed it.