Susan Granger’s review of “Equals” (A24)
Set in a sterile, post-apocalyptic society known as “The Collective,” Drake Doremus’ dark, dystopian melodrama depicts a seemingly utopian world without violence, crime or war – because human emotions have been genetically eliminated.
Coupling is outlawed. The Collective has cured cancer and the common cold. And those who, unfortunately, exhibit “Switched-On Syndrome” or SOS are forcibly subjected to a full course of emotion inhibitors…a.k.a. “the cure”…at the D.E.N. (Defective Emotional Neuropathy) or banished to a wasteland known as The Peninsula.
Expressionless Nia (Kristen Stewart) and Silas (Nicholas Hoult) work side-by-side, like robotic drones, at a company called Atmos, illustrating and publishing “speculative non-fiction,” depicting revisionist history on Earth before a devastating nuclear war decimated human civilization, as we know it.
Equipped with scanner-chip implants, they dwell in individual antiseptic cells in large tower buildings, eating solitary meals which are delivered electronically. Periodically, their serenity is disrupted by “suicide jumpers,” whose anguish only elicits apathy.
When, one day, they find themselves sexually attracted to one another, their lust and love propels them into forbidden territory. Fortunately, Nia and Silas are not alone. There’s an underground SOS support group, led by Jonas (Guy Pearce).
Problem is: their aberrant behavior has been observed and, just as she discovers she’s pregnant, Nia has been summoned as a “breeder.” Plus, there’s growing suspicion among their superiors, forcing them to choose between submitting to “the cure” or trying to escape.
Working from a stagnant script by Nathan Parker (“The Moon”), director Drake Doremus (“Like Crazy,” “Breathe In”) formulaically paces the dismal, corporate-conformity allegory.
Curiously, this sci-fi concept seems to be the flip side of “The Lobster,” where single people are forced to find a mate or be turned into an animal of their choice.
Since the melancholy relationship between Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult never exhibits credible chemistry, nor do they do anything noteworthy, perhaps the most interesting aspect is the claustrophobic production design and minimalist architecture on Japan’s Awaji Island.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Equals” is a flimsy 4. Futuristic repression isn’t much fun.
