Movie Review: The Equals (2015)

This movie reminds me of three or four more. The suppression of emotions. First Equilibrium (in here people don't feel and take pills to suppress their feelings) and The Giver (here also people don't feel and they even see in black and white...) 1984 - here it's discouraged but people still feel but bonding is not that common.

Synopsis
We get some glimpses about society. Some wars happened a most people died. The others who did not died made a treatment so they could be emotionless. Probably they thought emotions was the doom of mankind (so correct and so wrong at the same time). Those that start to feel are given a treatment that delays the inevitable death. SOS Stages. After silas was present in a arrest of a couple and some suicide guy he start to see changes in one college. He later befriends a "cop"-alike "Safety & Health" and understands that she is a Hider. She has all the symptoms but don't take pills to treat herself.

Later he starts follow until one day they start talking in a bathroom. They later touch and kiss and becomes lovers while hiding from everyone. He then begins to understand that he was a liability and exchanges work but soon Nia (the girl) go to his apartment and they become a couple.

After a while they plan to escape because a new treatment appeared and this time it will cure forever of "feelings". At a regular check up Nia is alerted that she is to be inseminated (that's their breathing protocol after all they don't have sex) but she finds out that she is already pregnant. She is arrested and force to commit suicide. The Safety & Health guy Silas knew helps NIA escape with the help of two others but they are soon discovered and apprehended - they are gone to receive the final treatment .

Silas distressed goes to the Den (the place where they commit suicide (or forced suicide) and learns that Nia was killed (she wasn't killed but exchanged names with a person who was killed). Heartbroken he tries to commit suicide but was weak. Nia arrives at Silas's Home and waits there for his arrival. After a couple of hours he arrives and she tries to touch him and caress him where she learns that he received the final cure and says that he remembers that he loves her but now he does not. He still escapes with her to the outside world but is totally apathetic to everything else.

In the last scene we see him sit besides her in the train leading outside and grabbing her hand - although he shows no emotions. Which leads us to an open ending.

Review 
This is a good movie but something I've seen before. Nothing original. You've seen Equilibrium and basically you watch this one. Although in Equilibrium there is a lot of fighting and the "feelings" are present but not hat exacerbated. The Giver is also a lot like this. Go read The Giver. You will feel more fulfilled. One of the best books I've ever read.

Worldbulding was weak. Why the emotion supression. How did it start. What year? What happen to people outside? Is the space travel only fiction?

Another is the cover... Those cameras and such. There is no big brother like in 1984. People are almost self imposed to give themselves up when they appear to have symptons. There are also detentions but it didn't felt like big brother. When he learns that Nia was supposedly killed he has some fit and the guard just before him just ask him whats up and he was visible distress.....


Nice tables to eat...never facing one another...
Then people with symptoms SOS 1 or 2 (there were four stages) still made part of society. They should be isolated so they couldn't "contaminate" anyone else. There are even some SOS 1 or 2 - "Health and Safety" jobs. How can you trust them to function correctly?

Nevertheless, an okay movie. Not thrilled to watch it nor angry or anything like that.. it's meh (You've seen what I did there?)




Comments