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 (032825)
Mickey 17 is an imaginative and thoughtful science fiction film that is set in a
dispiriting dystopian future. It is based on the popular book Mickey7 by Edward
Ashton (the novel has ten less Mickey's than the film and both effectively
combines science fiction, suspense, social commentary, and dark comedy.
Unfortunately, the film suffers somewhat because it's expectations were so high.
A bit overlong with some slow spots, Mickey 17 intelligently deals
with relevant issues, and it is definitely worth a look. It benefits from a talented cast
and a convincing, provocative and timely story, as well as state-of-the-art
special effects. It had a long journey from production to screen, which in one
sense was probably a good thing in that the director took his
time and got approval to cut the film his way. At least the film follows a
single creative vision, and it never feels like it was put together by a
committee like
Captain America: Brave New World.
Mickey 17 was directed by the terrific, Boon Joon-ho, a highly promising Korean
film maker who is known for being very skilled in making sci-fi films such as
The Host (2006), Snowpiercer (2013), and Okja. (2017). Like Okja this film
explores the hazards of dehumanization and increased corporate control and like
Snowpiercer this film has some anti-capitalist themes and delves into the
injustices of class stratification in a futuristic setting. Mickey 17 also
manages fortunately to preserve the director’s quirkiness and intellectual
themes.
The director’s last film,
Parasite
(2019) is seen by many viewers (including me)
as an influential almost perfect masterpiece, and the earlier Snowpiercer (2013)
was also first rate, and it was so successful that it spawned a popular TV show.
I’m sure it was just as hard to follow up Citizen Kane,
Persona, Casablanca, and/or Bonnie and Clyde.
I also had doubts because when a foreign director makes an English language film
with American actors, they often just get absorbed in the Hollywood system and
lose whatever made them unique in the first place. This is what happened when
Ang Lee made
the Hulk film in 2003, and when Igmar Bergman used Elliot Gould to make The Serpent’s Egg (1977) which is
universally seen as one of the director’s weakest films. I’m doubtful that
Fellini in his prime would have made better films if he shot them in California
and he used say Julie Andrews and Burt Reynolds instead of Marcello Mastroianni
and Giuletta Masina.
What makes it worse is that there was a five-year gap between the release of the
Oscar winning Parasite which was the highest grossing Korean film ever and this
one. Mickey 17 was postponed more than once because of delays brought about
because of the actors’ strike, and the director needed more time so other films
from the studio, like the most recent Kong/Godzilla film were green lighted to
be released earlier and released in Mickey 17’s slot.
The cast includes Robert Pattinson from Twilight and
The Batman, Naomi Acke,
from The End of the F***cking world, Steven Yeun from Walking Dead, Toni
Collette from Hereditary. Also included is Mark Ruffalo who was in the wonderful
Poor Things (perhaps his best role to date), and of course he competently played
the Bruce Banner in the Marvel U films (although I still prefer Ed Norton.)
Everyone is good but no one performance particularly stands out.
Here the antihero protagonist Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) is the ultimate
victim of an oppressive capitalist society. In 2054, which in some ways echoes
our own present society, there seems to be a very small middle class with the
upper-class using technology that only they control to usurp more and more power
and money.
Barnes gets a loan from gangsters to start a store and when his dream fails,
they threaten to murder him if he does not pay them back. In his desperation to
get off world to avoid being murdered, he volunteers to become what is called an
“expendable” which has no relation to the Stallone film series. This means that
he is seen as disposable, and he is used on only the most dangerous off-world
missions in which he often suffers terribly. Most of his life is hellish and
it’s impossible not to feel sorry for him.
When he is killed which happens frequently his consciousness is downloaded to an
identical cloned body that retains his memories and the whole thing happens over
and over. The term used to describe the process, “reprinting” is completely
dehumanizing, and this indicates the transfer of his consciousness is thought of
as casually as making Xerox copies of paper documents. The whole copy process is
not allowed on earth, but politicians apparently did not mind that if it is done
out of the public eye, so they only allow it on other planets so they don’t have
to see it or hear about it. This is reminiscent of when the American politicians
allowed the torture of suspected terrorists and their associates in Guantanamo
Bay as long as it was far away from public and media scrutiny.
While Micky 17 and other disadvantaged people suffer, rich people who want to
leave the earth which has been ruined by pollution run the colonies. In the
“colony project,” they are relocated on other planets on which they presumably
reign and can shape to their liking.
The main villain of the film, Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) is a
megalomaniacal former politician and media figure. He is a hero to the religious
right who wants to rule over a perfect all white planet. The film makers have
denied that he is based on Trump, but it seems likely that he is at least in
part a parody of him since all of his followers wear red hats. His sycophant yes
men followers seem to worship him and blindly follow him in a cult of
personality as if they were MAGA followers. This film is not likely to please
conservative viewers who delve into the obvious symbolism.
Marshall’s wife is played by Toni Colette who is almost unrecognizable in a
blonde wig. She is an almost totally idle rich snob who has an interesting hobby
and obsession. She is completely absorbed with eating and producing the tastiest
food, and she despises peasants for not having good taste. Her main mission is
producing the perfect sauce, and she does not care at all if innocent animals or
people suffer in order for her to achieve her goal.
Mickey is left to be eaten by aliens who somehow manage to look cute and
grotesque at the same time like the mutated pig in Okja. But in a reversal of
the body horror of Alien they are benevolent and refuse to consume him. In one
of the film’s most uncomfortable but memorable bits of black comedy, Mickey is
insulted that the aliens might not think he is good enough to devour because he
is a copy and tries to convince the ETS he is good enough to eat.
Since his bosses wrongly assume Mickey died, they create a second Mickey who
could potentially take over the first one’s life. There is also a risk that the
second Mickey will move in on the first Micky’s lovely, almost perfect
girlfriend Nasha (Naomi Ackie who has the most incredible smile since early
Julia Roberts), and initially she can’t seem to tell the difference between
them.
If a duplicate being in this system is ever mistakenly created, it is the
responsibility of the original to kill the copy. But since both Mickey's are
decent, moral characters this creates an ethical conundrum. The script then
takes a few twists and turns, and it ends slightly more optimistically than I
expected, although the conclusion is ambiguous.
The film had unimpressive box office returns, but like Blade Runner it might
actually play better on DVD or streaming, because it might be easier to digest
if viewers can rewatch parts they missed or did not understand.
Mickey 17 is not a perfect film, but it never fails because it aims too low. It
is thoughtful, timely and intelligent, but at times it is hard to follow, and
the story is unnecessarily complicated and cluttered.
Also, while it arrives at a totally satisfying conclusion, it takes a bit too
long to get there. But the film is like a tasty, filling and unusual cinematic
soufflé. It is hard to digest and does not always go down well, but in the end,
it is nourishing and worth the effort.
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