Self/Less
25/07/15 Filed in: Cinema
We saw Self/Less this week. Helen had described the plot to me beforehand and I must admit that it didn't sound very inviting. The Rotten Tomatoes scores reflect my initial feelings.
However, as is often the case I found the film better than I had expected, and certainly wouldn't be as dismissive as the Rotten Tomatoes' crowd.
OK, the storyline is preposterous, but it's marketed as a sci-fi movie so one shouldn't expect reality. Although I must admit that I prefer sci-fi films that at least take the kernel of an established scientific theory as their basis.
An ageing corporate magnate, Damian, who is dying from cancer has his consciousness transferred into the body of a healthy young man. A body that is said to have been biologically 'grown'. I'm not sure which of those two propositions is the most far-fetched, but as we later find out only one of them is in fact true.
From the beginning the now young Damian experiences some unexpected flashbacks, which are not from his own life, and which are suppressed by taking drugs that he is told are akin to anti-rejection medication. This is when he starts to unravel the fact that his biologically grown body isn't quite perhaps how it was described. You can probably guess why, but I won't completely spoil things for you.
However, as is often the case I found the film better than I had expected, and certainly wouldn't be as dismissive as the Rotten Tomatoes' crowd.
OK, the storyline is preposterous, but it's marketed as a sci-fi movie so one shouldn't expect reality. Although I must admit that I prefer sci-fi films that at least take the kernel of an established scientific theory as their basis.
An ageing corporate magnate, Damian, who is dying from cancer has his consciousness transferred into the body of a healthy young man. A body that is said to have been biologically 'grown'. I'm not sure which of those two propositions is the most far-fetched, but as we later find out only one of them is in fact true.
From the beginning the now young Damian experiences some unexpected flashbacks, which are not from his own life, and which are suppressed by taking drugs that he is told are akin to anti-rejection medication. This is when he starts to unravel the fact that his biologically grown body isn't quite perhaps how it was described. You can probably guess why, but I won't completely spoil things for you.
There follows a quest to discover the truth, which involves an emotional rollercoaster that awakens Damian's inadequacies in his previous life, as well as giving him a whole new set of responsibilities. Add in some special services kick-ass action and you have the elements for a reasonably enjoyable film moulded around a less than convincing plot line.
I'm obviously fairly easily pleased as I don't agree with the Rotten Tomatoes score. I think it's a matter of judging a film by what it sets out to do. If it's purely to entertain, then plot inadequacies and preposterous scientific assumptions hardly matter. Let's face it, Jurassic World had both and it cleaned up at the box office.
I'm obviously fairly easily pleased as I don't agree with the Rotten Tomatoes score. I think it's a matter of judging a film by what it sets out to do. If it's purely to entertain, then plot inadequacies and preposterous scientific assumptions hardly matter. Let's face it, Jurassic World had both and it cleaned up at the box office.