Mute Review
By: Nik S
Director: Duncan Jones
Producer(s): Stuart Fenegan
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd, Justin Theroux, Sam Rockwell, Seyneb Saleh
Production Company: Liberty Films UK, Studio Babelsberg
Distributor: Netflix
Runtime: 125 minutes
Leo (Alexander Skarsgård), our protagonist, becomes mute as a young boy due to having his throat ripped open by a boat's propeller at a young age. His mother, being devout to her Amish religion, refuses to get him the surgery that would have kept his ability to speak. Thirty years later Leo is a bartender at a club and is dating one of the waitresses, Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh). Naadirah vanishes one night, prompting Leo to delve into the dark underbelly of the city to find her. Meanwhile, an AWOL United States military medic, Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd), is trying desperitly to secure fake I.D.s so he and his daughter can flee back to America. The two stories eventually cross as it seems Cactus is somehow involved with Naadirah's disappearance.
Things feel as if they're spread thin to occupy the two hour window. The mystery of Naadirah starts off captivating, but halfway through fails to brace the audience with anything of interest. The dark future visuals start off nice, but after a few scenes one can often forget that this movie is supposed to be set forty-odd years in the future. Cactus Bill and Duck seem like they are going to be important to the overall story, but around the hour mark they feel like they've exhausted their roles to the plot. Stuff just happens simply to push the plot forward, and nothing ever feels resolved.
Most characters and their quirks seem to exist for small plot points. Leo being Amish only serves to help justify why his character is mute, and makes him as confused by technology as the audience to help introduce their functions. Theroux's character is a pederast and he really wants you to be aware of that. It feels the only reason for the character of Duck is to cause conflict with Rudd (whose character is a father of a young girl). Rudd couldn't seem to pick what character trait he wanted Cactus to be, so he just went with a variety of emotions and hoped one stuck. Any secondary character is there to just take up time and holds no significant purpose.
The musical score is done very well, as it's haunting but has a charm to it. The cinematography is heavily inspired by Blade Runner and various other futuristic dystopian films. There are some beautiful wide shots during fight scenes, and an underwater scene with some somber lighting that is spectacularly done. All of this is burdened down by cheap looking CGI of robots, limbs, and certain backdrops.
This film could have been so much better if they cut down Rudd and Theroux's screen time. After a while the two just seemed like a bickering old couple that were just trying to kill as much time of the movie as possible. There are a few Easter eggs for any fans of the movie Moon, as there is a debate in the news about releasing the 156, a reference
Director: Duncan Jones
Producer(s): Stuart Fenegan
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd, Justin Theroux, Sam Rockwell, Seyneb Saleh
Production Company: Liberty Films UK, Studio Babelsberg
Distributor: Netflix
Runtime: 125 minutes
Film noirs always need the strong silent type, and Mute goes one step further by making its protagonist literally unable to speak. Mute is a neo-noir film set in the year 2052 directed by Duncan Jones, known for his 2009 hit Moon and Warcraft, and is co-written by Michael Robert Johnson. The film takes heavy inspiration from the movie Blade Runner from its set design, to the overall feel. According to Jones, Mute was never intended to be a sci-fi film. There are some flying ships and robots, and a dystopian feel, but it never influences the plot.
Leo (Alexander Skarsgård), our protagonist, becomes mute as a young boy due to having his throat ripped open by a boat's propeller at a young age. His mother, being devout to her Amish religion, refuses to get him the surgery that would have kept his ability to speak. Thirty years later Leo is a bartender at a club and is dating one of the waitresses, Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh). Naadirah vanishes one night, prompting Leo to delve into the dark underbelly of the city to find her. Meanwhile, an AWOL United States military medic, Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd), is trying desperitly to secure fake I.D.s so he and his daughter can flee back to America. The two stories eventually cross as it seems Cactus is somehow involved with Naadirah's disappearance.
Things feel as if they're spread thin to occupy the two hour window. The mystery of Naadirah starts off captivating, but halfway through fails to brace the audience with anything of interest. The dark future visuals start off nice, but after a few scenes one can often forget that this movie is supposed to be set forty-odd years in the future. Cactus Bill and Duck seem like they are going to be important to the overall story, but around the hour mark they feel like they've exhausted their roles to the plot. Stuff just happens simply to push the plot forward, and nothing ever feels resolved.
Most characters and their quirks seem to exist for small plot points. Leo being Amish only serves to help justify why his character is mute, and makes him as confused by technology as the audience to help introduce their functions. Theroux's character is a pederast and he really wants you to be aware of that. It feels the only reason for the character of Duck is to cause conflict with Rudd (whose character is a father of a young girl). Rudd couldn't seem to pick what character trait he wanted Cactus to be, so he just went with a variety of emotions and hoped one stuck. Any secondary character is there to just take up time and holds no significant purpose.
The musical score is done very well, as it's haunting but has a charm to it. The cinematography is heavily inspired by Blade Runner and various other futuristic dystopian films. There are some beautiful wide shots during fight scenes, and an underwater scene with some somber lighting that is spectacularly done. All of this is burdened down by cheap looking CGI of robots, limbs, and certain backdrops.
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