(https://i.imgur.com/xi4gyxw.png)
Studio: Decal - Neon
Release Date: 5/13/2025
Rating: R
Film Grade: D
The Story: Twenty-five years have passed since a fiery environmental apocalypse has enveloped all of Earth. A small group of survivors have survived in a well-stocked underground bunker. With all of their needs met, daily life consists of rudimentary tasks, like redecorating rooms, practicing safety drills, and swimming laps in a pool. All are meant to relieve boredom and perhaps add some sense of fulfilment and meaning to their shallow lives. They subsist in dull harmony, with much of their attention focused on Son, who was born in the shelter, never having seen the outside world.
That’s all about to change, however, as a straggler from the surface world somehow enters their fortified refuge.
My Take: I abhor trigger warnings on movies, but I would have gladly embraced one in this particular case. There was nothing in the library’s synopsis indicating that this was a musical. The opening minutes of the movie had me immediately questioning my choice and wondering what I had gotten myself into. Still, the premise had me intrigued, so I soldiered on.
It has an interesting setup: A well-to-do family has survived the above-ground calamity relatively untouched. As the decades pass, a child has given them focus, and they’ve found ways to relieve the tedium of being sealed away from the outside world. It opens up all kinds of thought exercises. Knowing that your ultimate fate has been sealed, and you’re only living out the remains of your life in exile how do you find meaning? What is to become of Son, who will eventually find himself completely alone and without any kind of companionship?
These are deep and potentially bleak themes that completely clash with the selected genre. There’s lots of singing in the style of old Hollywood musicals, occasionally mated with dance numbers. There’s simply no room for any serious exploration of complex elements. Instead, the movie shovels in gobs of social issues, handled without subtlety. Man-made environmental disaster, greedy corporate executives that care nothing about humanity, arrogance of the rich, the folly of American exceptionalism, are just a few examples. Each are dealt with on only the most superficial of levels, robbing the story of any substance.
In one silly and juvenile scene, characters discuss their contrasting views of farting, leading to think it was meant as an absurdist comedy. But others touch on more serious examinations like how memories can warp over time, creating a fictional history. And another discusses how romance either evolves or fades over time. But those deeper universal ideas aren’t developed into much of anything and pushed to aside in favor of political flavors of the day. Perhaps this is all one should expect from director Joshua Oppenheimer, who previously specialized in documentaries. His characters and dialog are used as blunt instruments to pound the arrogant pride out of clunkily fashioned stand-ins for his real-world villains.
There’s a talented cast here. Tilda Swinton not only plays the airheaded Mother; she was also one of the movie’s multitude of producers. Michael Shannon plays Father, former executive of an energy company who helped cause the disaster and also provided the means for their survival but never learned any lessons in humility. George MacKay is Son, born and raised entirely in the bunker; you immediately see how he’s a flawed product of his two parents and never allowed to mature. The entire cast is used to show the mental disfunction of the ersatz family, as hints are dropped that it’s just a continuation of how they were before entering the bunker. I will give the cast credit; there is no indication that any kind of vocal adjustment or manipulation was used. There’s little attempt to stay in tune. It turns out it was an intentional choice; using their mediocre singing voices was a way to add credence to the human flaws of the character.
The standout aspect of the movie was the use of an underground Italian salt mine that acts as an outer fortress housing the upper-scale bunker. Sweeping dunes, and scalloped, frosting-like ceilings add visual interest and a timeless sense of untouched beauty to what might have been a dull, lifeless, earthen cave.
Visuals: While digitally shot, the picture has a surprisingly mottled look to it. Perhaps it’s partially due to the contrasting colors and lighting schemes used for much of the movie. Dominated by cool blues, the lighting is a warm, almost golden, yellow. Clashing with that are rich, dark wood accents on the walls and furnishings. The almost shabby plaster walls are adorned with expensive paintings from various art periods. The incongruitous nature of those elements is off-putting, never allowing the viewer to feel comfortable as the story plays out.
Audio: The 5.1 DTS-HD offers an adequate job with the conventional musical score and songs, creating an enveloping feel with its classical orchestration. It also presents the vocals with all of their flaws; I’ve attended local community theater productions that were vastly more pleasing to the ear. Dialog is largely clear and easily understandable. Sound effects are minimal but there are a few moments that offer surprises.
Special Features: I normally try to watch all of the various extras but couldn’t make it through them. They do seem to be extensive, so fans of the film will want to check them out.
- On-set interviews with George Mackay, Moses Ingram, Jeannie James, Tim McInnerny, and Joshua Schmidt (composer)
Final Verdict: I’m not someone who enjoys musicals but stuck out the almost two and a half hours just to see if there was some kind of satisfactory ending that could have made the effort worth it. That never happened. In comparison, my wife, who does enjoy musicals, slapped it with an F grade.
The movie is made for those who think living out endless days in self-imposed captivity would make the perfect fodder for a breezy musical. It may also find a crossover audience with those who enjoy issue advocacy screeds over entertainment. If you find yourself in either of those camps, it’s worth checking out. Maybe. If it’s part of your streaming plan or at your local library.
For those looking for a more insightful look at what life might be like in isolation after apocalypse, check out something like The Road or Z for Zachariah. Both are better examples of the genre. And without the out-of-place singing.
Incidentally Ironic Quote: “An agenda?”
https://youtu.be/avvm0e4oNCE
My Review System:
JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Oppo BDP-93
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup