Achieving . . . Equilibrium

There are certain tragedies in this world.

I suppose that in the grand scheme of things, this particular "tragedy" is not truly worthy of its moniker. But in life, some small things often seem far more important than the really big things.

So that is why I can describe the way that a certain piece of cinematic art is a tragedy, in that it was so egregiously overlooked by American movie audiences, and insomuch as it has taken me so long to partake of it myself. It should also be noted that there will be further tragedy in this post because I simply do not feel myself adequate as a movie reviewer and therefore truly unable to impart to you the awesomeness that is the movie: Equilibrium.

Let me begin by saying that one of the truly astounding things about the movie Equilibrium is that it is helmed by director Kurt Wimmer, who is also its writer. The reason it is astounding is because he will probably be best remembered, or perhaps best forgotten, for the unbelievable dud that was Ultraviolet. Apparently, between the making of the grand piece of art that was Equilibrium and the sad piece of dreck that was Ultraviolet, Wimmer suffered a stroke, or massive brain hemorrhage, or was abducted and lobotomized by aliens or something.

At any rate, this much earlier film has all the hallmarks of a true sci-fi masterpiece. Lets look at a few ingredients.

First, we begin with the Dark Knight himself, Christian Bale. It was, in fact, Bale's appearance in this film that prompted my good friend Mark to recommend it for my viewing. I vaguely remember seeing its cover grace the shelves of the local Blockbuster, but I overlooked it, just as the rest of Amurka seemed to. Anyway, we then immediately sprinkle in just a dash of Boromir, er Richard Sharpe, I mean, that is to say, Sean Bean. Oh poor Sean. The British Isles turn out so many grand actors, women and men who dwarf most of their American counterparts, and yet they only seem to get noticed when they affect a mid-western accent. (For those of you who don't know, Christian Bale is Welsh. That's right, Batman is a friggin' limey.)

Now having said that we should not overlook the excellent seasoning provided by Taye Diggs. This guys is just top to bottom a solid actor. And he looks really good in a black trench coat. But, then again, who doesn't?

Let's see now, where are we? Right. Next we add equal parts of Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and The Matrix. I'm sure that in my lack of real film knowledge, I'm leaving out some other critical film or literary influence that few people are familiar with, but we can always add a dash of a few other things from our spice rack: The Crow, Brazil, Dark City, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

If all of these films and books did not influence the film, then they at least were called to my mind by it. We see a vision of a future utopia, where anger, hate and fear are a thing of the past, along with war, murder, jealousy, and all the other negative emotions, through the widespread application of a drug which suppresses human emotions. Of course, as is often the case, we see that this utopia is truly a distopia, as the drug not only suppresses these negative emotions, but also the emotion of love, the appreciation of beauty, art, and everything that makes humans . . . human.

Our hero, John Preston, aka Bruce Wayne, er Christian Bale, is the most elite of the ultra-elite group of Clerics whose job it is to hunt down and "combust" those fringe elements who refuse to be drugged into a state of unfeeling stupor. After witnessing his long-time partner's downfall at the hands of William Butler Yeats (oh just google it), he, somewhat predictably, begins his own exploration of outlawed emotion.

It sounds, at first, as if this is going to be a predictable story-line that will play out in predictable ways. And in some ways, it does. But what sets it apart from a whole host of other futuristic films is the patience way that the direct brings us along on his protagonist's journey of discovery. Think about the first time you heard a Beethoven symphony. Remember what it felt like the first time you touch a lover's skin. What did you feel the first time you watched the sun rise, especially if you had watched that same sun set the night before. Our hero is finds himself feeling all of these emotions washing over him in rapid succession, all while trying not to display them to his fellow clerics.

It's a powerful piece of film-making. And when you throw in some incredible fight sequences, the "gun kata" and, yes, even puppy dogs (believe me, it seems trite, but it was one of the most powerful scenes in the film), one is left with a feeling that a terrible miscarriage of justice was done. That this film is not well known, that it is not spoken of with reverence by every sci-fi geek you've ever met, that it is not listed among the greats like Blade Runner and The Wrath of Kahn, well . . . perhaps time will be kind to it and it will find itself becoming a true cult favorite.

As for me, I know it's going to find a place of honor among my DVD collection. I don't expect any of you to take my word for it, after all, I am the guy who liked Walk Hard and who has all five seasons of ATHF, but I hope that you will take the time to see this lovely piece of celluloid.

And I dare you not to feel something, anything, when you watch it.