what is it In the sci-fi movie “Fo”, set in the near future, Earth has been depleted of its natural resources. Amid environmental carnage, a young couple tries to hold on to a dying farm somewhere in the Midwest.
But life changes irrevocably for Han (Saoirse Ronan) and Junior (Paul Meskal) with the sudden arrival of Terence (Aaron Pierre), a company representative presenting a space station settlement that could save humanity.
Junior is chosen by lottery as one of the people who must settle in this new place, leaving Hen behind with an AI-generated clone of her husband.
The picture is directed by Garth Davis (“Lion”) and is an adaptation of the novel by Ian Reed. Reed and Davis co-wrote the screenplay.
my say The movie has an interesting factor, prevalent with contemporary resonance in its depiction of an arid planet and artificial intelligence playing an extraneous role in Fallout.
It looks the part with a farm house setting surrounded by acres of dead trees, now only the trunks dot the landscape, as the water turns muddy and red. That casting is perfect; Ronan (“Lady Bird”) long ago established himself as one of the best actors around, and Meskel received an Oscar nomination last year for his work in “Aftersun.”
And yet, despite all that, “Enemy” is a terrible mess, a never-ending slog through one static sequence after another.
It plays less like a “Black Mirror” episode than its own thing, the kind of high-concept production that lacks the wherewithal to follow through on potential.
That’s partly because it rarely engages with this vision of much of society. Don’t expect any broader context or perspective outside the field. Topical themes like AI and global warming arise, are played with, and then mostly sit there, with precious little light.
The focus is constantly inward on the strained relationship between Junior and Hen and the disruption caused by Terrance. The chamber piece approach might have worked if they weren’t some of the least interesting people imaginable: mopey, angry and prone to mind-numbing rumours. It’s not Ronan’s fault, or Mescal’s, or Pierre’s. They are playing abstractions rather than characters.
In fact, the writing veers towards the abstract to such an extent that the play becomes hopelessly convoluted. The most adept filmmakers of this kind of philosophical sci-fi find ways to embed their big ideas into a straightforward and digestible structure; The movie goes so far in the other direction that there are entire scenes that just float there, with no explanation. There’s a line between smart and smug that the movie regularly crosses.
It’s suffocating to the point where you, like these characters, are desperate to escape this scorched earth misery. Fortunately, you have a remote with an off button.
Bottom line Sci-fi buffs should also stay away.
