Equilibrium2002

Perhaps the coolest movie of all time.  Is this movie subtle? No. But is it one of the best movies I’ve ever seen? Absolutely. This movie is about a society that, to eliminate war and violence, has created a medicine that completely suppresses emotions. To ensure compliance, there is a military task force with special agents called clerics who are trained from childhood to track down insurrectionists and eliminate them and their contraband (art, music, anything creative) en masse.  The irony of a society that eliminates violence with violence is obvious to us but not so to the mass, unfeeling crowds of this world’s universe, and it is as subtle as the swastika-inspired flag of its government.  But given the state of our world today, I don’t see much of a point in subtlety anyways.  The main character of this story is Preston, the most successful cleric, absolutely cold, calculating, and unfeeling. Absolutely willing to destroy any resistance and any sign of the past. The movie literally opens with the burning of the Mona Lisa.  There’s that subtlety.  His partner, meanwhile, while not explicitly obvious, you can clearly see in his performance that something is different about him. It is subsequently revealed that he has not been taking his prozium, the emotion-blocking medicine required to be taken by all members of society.  Once Preston learns this, he finds him and kills him point-blank. Which is the catalyst of the entire story. After this, Preston accidentally breaks the bottle containing his last dose of prozium and is called on an assignment before he can get a refill. And after years of suppressing his emotions, even through the arrest and execution of his wife for “sense crime,” he realizes how senseless the wanton violence of the clerics all is.  Without spoiling all the little details, in the end it becomes clear that the only point of suppressing emotions and eliminating noncompliance is for mass control by one man. Surprise, surprise. I think this really only works because of how obvious it is from the beginning.  It shows how people will write off anything done by the government as long as they believe it is for the greater good and aligns with their worldview. That’s why the religious themes are so important. The obvious Nazi imagery is important. And it makes this movie almost prophetic.  While the masses live emotionless in sterile, minimalist environments compelled to listen to propaganda by its unseen, perceived leader, its real ruler sits in a lavish but barren room with a cage of birds in the corner, while pets are even illegal in this world. It’s all about power and control. Do as I say, not as I do.  So not like real life.  Christian Bale is perfect in this as are the performances of his partners. Though Brandt (Preston’s second partner) is clearly emotional, his emotions are mostly positive and it shows how illegal actions can be written off as long as the perpetrators still align with the will of the government.  Surprisingly enough, the movie was so enjoyable that I didn’t descend into a depressive manic episode afterward. Or maybe I’m just numb.  Anyways, this movie is incredible and absolutely a new favorite.