Seat 25

"You decide to go to Mars forever and you forget to tell your husband?"

I'm open to all kinds of films. It doesn't have to be a blockbuster with star actors. I love indies as well. And already several times I was lucky enough to see a gem of a movie. A film that's not well-known to the general public. But to be honest, "Seat 25" is a film that has tested the limits of my stamina. Coincidentally I saw "The Martian" a few days ago on some television channel. "Seat 25" is about a young woman named Faye Banks (Madeleine Cooke) who has won a golden ticket. Just like Charlie in a very different movie. Not to immerse herself in a stream of chocolate in the factory of Willy Wonka, but to become a member of a team that booked a one-way trip to Mars.

So, are you looking forward to an exciting SF with the red planet as the central theme, then you can skip this one. Apart from some red-tinted images of a sandy, rocky landscape, there's not much interplanetary to see. Sometimes it seems as if Faye is living on another planet. But don't expect similar action sequences like Matt Damon did in "The Martian". Or scenes with a large rocket. Or an overcrowded Control Center. The only thing that just kind of stuck with me is that it all seemed terribly boring and everything seemed so insignificant. Really everything radiates dullness. Faye is boring. Her family is boring. Her clothes look dull. Her work is boring. The colleagues are boring. Fay's life in itself is boring. Mr. Popescu (Adnan Rashad) was dead tired of all the dullness in his life. The conversations are boring. The interior is boring (Yeak, those symmetrically placed pillows). You'd fly to Mars for less. Only neighbor Peter (Stephen Lloyd) and his daughter Flossie breach this overall dullness.

It's not only the monotony of her life Faye wants to escape from. She also seems to have a degree in science. You can easily deduce this from the fact that her husband Jim (Nicholas Banks) persuades her to take a job at a certain moment, even though it has nothing to do with science ("I know it's not in science, but it's a job. We need the money "). That Jim-guy really is an intrusive and bossy fellow. And probably this trip to Mars is an unfulfilled wish of her. Seems quite obvious to me when you look at her box full of high-tech scientific material: a space helmet made of aluminum foil, a few pictures frames with space photographs and a pile of VHS tapes about planets from our galaxy. Probably these are remnants of demonstration material that she used for her thesis.

Maybe it all sounds a bit sarcastic and it might be better to simply skip this film. It's indeed all rather slow and boring. The whole story is infused with melancholy and sadness. So you won't feel happy or excited about this movie. And yet it did fascinate me in one way or another. Forget about the science part. About a Mars trip. And you'll discover an interesting story about how an individual is trapped in a daily routine. A life Faye isn't really satisfied with. And maybe she expected more of life. Hence her candidacy for seat number 25.

Madeleine Cooke isn't only a fun and attractive appearance. She plays the role of the timid and introverted Faye in a perfect way. Even though it sometimes seems as if Faye is feeble-minded and spends more time looking at the sky. Or reads the discharge procedure for the umpteenth time in an apathetic way. Or has lunch on that bench in the park in an upright sitting posture while staring into space. And the whole time I was asking myself two things. Will she make the decision and leave everything behind to go on an adventure? And when is she going to tell she's the chosen one?

No, "Seat 25" is not high-quality cinema. And no, it really isn't SF. It's rather melodramatic. Even though it sometimes comes across as humorous (but that has more to do with English correctness and stiffness). The film focuses more on the relations between everyday people. Faye has the choice between going to Mars on her own or staying in her current family situation. For her, the first option will be more satisfactory. Now she leads an ignored, misunderstood and numb life. With a man who has more eye for his own career and therefore is punctual and precise in terms of work. It's a man who decides on his own that it's time for them to have children. And Faye's sister lives in her own pretentious world. And finally, her parents treat her as a stranger. Not really a rosy life. There was only one thing I doubted at first. And that was whether the whole thing about flying to Mars wasn't something that only existed in Faye's imagination.

Like one reviewer here, I also wanted to like this movie but how it won so many awards escapes me. Others have enthusiastically praised or derided it here but in truth it deserves neither. Its not Sci-fi nor is it a deep meaningful look into the soul of a troubled existence in a dull and uninspired life. It felt two dimensional and lacking a spark dispite some decent cinematography and a promising storyline. I might need to watch it again to try and figure out what I missed, but I probably won't.

This film was a genuine delight. It was funny, moving and thought provoking. A very clever script and a stunning soundtrack. Good to see a truly great independent British science fiction. Definitely worth a watch! This film is certainly is not action packed, it moved along at a gentle pace that I really enjoyed.

This film wants to be Amelie SO BAD but it just isn't. It's a shame as it seems like it had so much potential if it had just done its own thing.

SEAT 25 (2017)

Seat 25 was recommended to me by someone whose artistic talent and sensibility I respect. I like when friends refer films to me because it gets me to look beyond the films I would choose for myself. Sometimes I love their movie referrals, and other times, as in the case of Seat 25, I don't.

I did enjoy the performance by the lead actress, Madeleine Cooke, who also is a co-writer and producer of the project. She played the main character Faye Banks with a clear presence that gave access to her feelings of alienation in ways I felt were easily accessible. And depressing. Faye is a woman in a beige, uninspiring marriage and a thankless job as a Employment Termination Assistant, an axeman who delivers the news to poor souls that they are fired. Her family is physically and emotionally unavailable; her sister is a negative sterotype of a proclaimed free spirit who is in actuality a freeloader. Faye's husband is portrayed as a one dimensional man going through his days on auto-pilot, escaping to console games, life cliques, ("we're going to try for a baby now, it's the next logical step"), and briefcase-in-hand, bland morning exits.

Faye feels like an alien on planet earth and has been captivated by Mars since she was a child, and so naturally when a lottery for a ticket on a shuttle to Mars comes up, Faye applies... and is chosen to go. I'm not a believer in the idea that life on Mars is realistic or desirable, so I was out of this narrative from it's inception. I settled in to watch the film as a metaphor, and managed to find a few interesting moments in her interactions with her neighbor Peter, a stay-at-home dad, and with Teodor, one of the employees she fired; I hoped these relationships would go somewhere substantial, but I ultimately felt they were pawns to manipulative the story in ways I found void of meaningful impact.

Artistically I appreciated the cinematography; Faye's colorful, quirky wardrobe; and the set designs, even in her very beige house.

For me, Seat 25 never took off.