2.63- EQUILIBRIUM

EQUILIBRIUM: WILL YOU PAY THE COST TO FEEL?

by David Blackwell

EQUILIBRIUM is George Orwell's 1984 meets THE MATRIX. This is the directing debut of screenwriter Kurt Wimmer. The future is bleak and sterile where people are devoid of emotion thanks to a drug they inject on a daily basis called Prozium. This is a society that has saw emotions as the root of all problems after the last big war (World War 3 which started in teh early 21st century). People who feel are sense offenders. People who posess works of art and books with emotional content and personal objects can mark you as a sense offender. This new society has set up and trained a force known as the Grammaton Clerics who are tarined in all forms of weapons and fighting techniques. EQUILIBRIUM is the story of Cleric John Preston (Christian Bale).

It begins when Preston and his partner, Cleric Partridge (Sean Bean), are in on a raid on some Sense Offenders. Partridge is discovered to be carrying a book that wasn't burned. He tells Preston he will turn it in himself, but he doesn't. Preston figures out Partridge has begun to feel. He goes oustside of the city and finds his partner. Partridge is found out to be a Sense Offender. Preston is assigned new partner, Brandt (Taye Diggs). T hings start to go wrong for Preston when he raids the apartment of sense offender named Mary (Emily Watson) and when he accidently let his dose of Prozium break and then he begins to not take it anymore!

EQUILIBRIUM is the story of a person's struggle to feel. Should he feel? Will it be worth the price? What will he do? Will he help the rebels who want to bring down the current society or will he turn them in?

The movie was shot on a budget of $20 million with shooting taking place in Berlin, Germany and the citys of Rome and Lazio in Italy. Christian Bale plays Preston like a man who is sure of himself to a man who questions his new feelings, the same feelings that his wife developed and lead her to be taken away. Dion Beebe did the cinematography of this cold grey, black, and white world devoid of emotion- a sterile world. Dion also went on to do the cinematography for teh recently released Chicago starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere.

EQUILIBRIUM reminds me of other films like FAHRENHEIT 451 with the scene where they take the flame thrower to the Mona Lisa. The black and white clothing, the sterile enviroment, the leader of Equilibrium called the Father, and the lack of entertainment can be easily compared to the movie 1984 starring John Hurt. John Hurt, like, Christian Bale, is a man who first questions the way society is and is it worth the risk to rebel against society no matter what the cost is.

Unlike John Hurt, Christian Bale's charactrer Preston is a well trained killing machine on the side of the law. Preston can be compared to Fireman Montag in FAHRENHEIT 451. EQUILIBRIUM adds to the assortment of films that paint bleak futures and dsytopic societies. The Clerics are like a form of unfeeling samurai who are dispensing justice for The Father. The Clerics in way can be considered samurai due to the scene where Preston and Brandt fight with wooden swords, and Preston has a samurai type sword on him when he is in his white dress uniform for ceremonial functions. Other types who have swords with theme at cermonies are Marines and Navy officers in past centuries (but Navy officers did also carry swords on them all the time). Preston has to worry and be careful what he does because everyone is out to inform on each other. The sterile society of Libria can be compared to Nazi Germany or Communist Soviet Union. The enviroment of Libria is without color or artistic expression. The Father talking all the time on the TV screens echoes Big Brother in 1984. Emily Watson's charcter Mary brings up a good point. Is Life worth living if you can't feel? EQUILIBRIUM is about the fight to feel and the fight for the right to express the ideas that make people feel.

I'm very impressed with the world and film Kurt Wimmer has created with EQUILIBRIUM. At some points, the movie could have turned into your usual bland action packed movie, but I'm glad it didn't. I was entertained for a movie that lasts over 100 minutes. If this is what he can do on $20 million, I wonder what he will do with a $100 million budget. Before I thought John Carpenter was the only proper director to direct a remake of THE FORBIDDEN PLANET, but I have to say Kurt Wimmer could do the remake justice too.

It is a shame the Dimension screwed the release and promotion of one of the best science fiction movies of recent years. They first delayed the movie's release twice and finally give it a limited release in December with little TV ad coverage. I eagerly await the next movie from Kurt Wimmer as a director. EQUILIBRIUM is an impressive debut that should be seen by more people.

EQUILIBRIUM- 4.5 (of 5)

EQUILIBRIUM, rated R, Dimension Films

running time: 107 minutes.

written and directed by Kurt Wimmer

Christian Bale- John Preston

Emily Watson- Mary

Taye Diggs- Brandt

Angus MacFadyen- DuPont

Sean Bean- Partridge

William Fichtner- Jurgen

Sean Pertwee- The Father

Other Movies to See: 1984 (1984), FAHRENHEIT 451, BRAVE NEW WORLD, METROPOLIS (1927), GATTACA (1997), BRAZIL, LOGAN'S RUN