A review of the black comedy film “Mickey 17”
In 2020, South Korean director Bong Joo-ho won the Academy Award for Best Picture with his stunning film “Parasite”. Five years later, we have his follow-up work, a picture in the English language based on the 2022 novel “Mickey7” by Edward Ashton.
It is technically a sci-fi movie in that it is set in 2054 on a planet where a crazy fascist, played in over-the-top style by Mark Ruffalo, is seeking to create a new world “full of superior people” (Elon Musk comes to mind). His fanatical wife is portrayed by Toni Colette and the “colony project” is funded and supported by a weird religious organisation (shades of the American evangelical movement).
This is a risky enterprise, so the most dangerous tasks are given to an underclass of disposable humans called expendables whose biometric date and memories have been uploaded ready for reuse. When they die, they are simply reconstituted.
The story centres on one such expendable who is on his 17th iteration when, having apparently died, he is printed out for an 18th version. Both formats are represented by Robert Pattinson who is able to display his considerable thespian talents by appearing in two identical forms with rather different personalities reflecting their different aspirations. So, rather like “Parasite”, we have an exploration of class with an identification with the lower class.
The plot is a little confusing at times and there is nothing subtle about the messaging, but there are some interesting ideas in this insane movie and an entertaining and amusing exposition of the storyline which is never boring.