M34
Wow this is so sappy and shallow it would even make it on lifetime channel.I have to chuckle at the fact that all the 9 and 10 star reviews are from accounts that sing up, review one film and nothing lese. And SURPISE most have the same diction, adjectives. About bad as a Russian troll farm boosting likes for "Everytown."
Vonia
Love. The birth of love. This is what I see in this film and I think it is genius. "Switched On Syndrome" is what it is called in this futuristic society, when individuals not allowed to have any emotions, begin to feel. This disease then progresses in stages, stage 4 progressing to bring "cancelled", then being sent to The Den, after which individuals disappear forever. Many individuals, in order to avoid this, committee suicide. The title refers to the so called "cure", Ashby ENI, after which affected individuals reintegrate themselves into The Collective, the world of equals, those that do not feel. The performances in this film are underrated, especially Kristen Stewart. As her character says early on, it takes an incredible amount of practice and restrain in order to not let her emotions show (she is a "hider" in the otherwise emotionless utopia). The same goes for the actors and actresses. I feel critics underestimated what it actually takes. A straight face, no significant body language, stoic movements, a completely neutral tone of voice. The other formidable aspect of this film is the mise en scène: the sleek color scheme, the lighting, the muted profiles, the clever silhouette use, the switch from all white to the masterful technique of montages, stolen smiles, glances, tears, physical contact, music, colors. Critical reception was not great. I guess many of the critics did not like the mundane, the slow pace; the not completely believable, captivating, intelligent, or even logical universe. Well, that is why most individuals do not appreciate many of the international films that I do. I am not typically a science fiction fan, nor of the future assist Society apocalyptic film. For the reasons stated above, this one was an exception. **** Spoilers **** What I did hate was the ending. Nia and Silas are planning to escape to The Peninsula, somewhere untracked where they could love freely, but the day before they plan to leave, Nia is summoned, tested, and found to be pregnant. She is taken to The Den, eventually escapes with underground help, but finds Silas a little late. À la Shakespeare, he was told she died by asphyxiation, almost commits suicide, but instead decides to receive the cure. He no longer loves her, though he claims to remember what it felt like. He decides to leave with Nia anyways. In the train, he moves to hold her hand. Curtain. I am not a fan of happy endings, all things tied up with a pretty bow, but I am a fan of realistic endings that are sad because they need to be or should be. There is no reason for the depressing ending here, however. Director Drake Doremus redeems it slightly with the hand hold. Nia is still pregnant as far as we know. But not quite enough for me.
Kevin Kevin
"Equals" goes on my short list of films so fine they grow better with time.I've watched this three times now since it's release almost two years ago, and it has actually been markedly better each time as I learned to see a world that is alien to my sensibilities. By the third time, the beautiful and subtle display and repression and growth of emotions for characters affected by the "disease" - and lack of them for others unaffected - was actually heart-wrenching. This subtlety and this film is otherwise not easy to grasp because subtle emotion is largely missing or invisible in our own time and art, so maybe that's why the critics and most of the public missed the show. But miss it they did, and that's not only their true loss but certainly a loss for all involved.I guess the cast and crew knew they were making an excellent film and rose to the occasion. High end performances all around - for which we must also credit the direction, design and production quality. Some have called this film a masterpiece. It may well be, but I'll come back to view it again in a few years before I try to make that call.Meanwhile, I can tell you it's at least nearly a masterpiece. Stewart knocks it out of the park. She and the film ought to have had a couple of major awards, and the competition that year was not weak. I've rarely seen a performance anywhere the equal, and if there is a film where performance matters it is "Equals" because it is about human emotion. Mr Nicholas Hoult also deserves a vigorous nod.I don't think it's technically a spoiler to mention there is no serious nudity in this film, but the lack of it may have been the spoiler at the box office and for the critics (IMHO). The audience needs a better foothold in this future world as the film opens. The contrast of our own sexual response to nudity and the lack of such response in this imagined future dystopia could have been that, helping clarify that we are seeing genetically repressed emotional response, as contrasted with culturally suppressed. If this were my film, I'd go back to the cutting room now and add nudity at the beginning. And since that missing foothold - however its accomplished - is key to grasping the rich subtext as the film begins and unwinds, I'm going to give it a 7/10 for my first round, which is a little better than the score awarded by critics and general audience, an 8/10 for my second watch, and 9/10 for my latest viewing.Thanks to all and encore!
