This film is a combination of George Orwell's '1984,' 'Faerenheight 451,' 'The Matrix,' and Lois Lowry's book 'The Giver.' In a distopian society where everyone is dependent on a drug called 'prozium' which suppresses all human emotion, Cleric John Preston played by Christian Bale, lives a life of enforcement against societies 'sense offenders.' These people's crime is that they have stopped their drug regimen and have begun again to feel human emotion. The films opening scene shows clerics played by Bale, and Sean Bean of 'Lord of the Rings' fame slaughtering a number of 'sense offenders,' and then after verifying their authenticity, burning a number of famous pieces of art including the Mona Lisa.
The entire premise of this film is set in the aftermath of the third world war. In order to halt 'man's inhumanity to man,' the before mentioned drug is created, and all of society descends into a world of complete obedience to the will of their leader, or father, and constant fear (at least for those who are sense offenders) of capture and summary execution.
The film is nicely done with a number of exciting action sequences in that 'Matrix' style. It does not however rely on action to define itself as a movie. Bale does a wonderful job of showing us what it might be like to re-discover emotion, and there are a number of moving scenes in which he conveys that discovery beautifully, such as when he accidentally turns on a record of one of Beethoven's symphony's.
I would highly recommend this film for anyone interested in that 'Matrix'esque' style, or for a more recent comparison those that enjoyed 'The Hunger Games.' They are two completely different films of course, but some of the moral dilemmas that the characters grapple with are mirrored here in 'Equilibrium.' In the end, this films helps us discover that it is not our actions that define us...because even without the benefit of emotion, great evils are perpetrated in this film, it is the presence of emotion, the good and the bad that makes us who we are.
-David
In a world where "feeling" is a crime, and people are simultaneously murdered for listening to music, appreciating art, reading books...this is the world of Equilibrium. Christian Bale plays the protagonist in this film, a "cleric" working for the totalitarian government who carries out these "raids" until one day he misses a dose of the medicine which hinders emotion, and his eyes are opened up to a whole new world.
Bale is very believable as a person void of emotion with his stoic and serious tone. Yet when he does start to feel, he does a good job of displaying quiet intensity, showing us what it might be like for a person who is not used to emotion to suddenly be filled with wonder, sadness, and love.
There are many actors and actresses in this movie, who add their own depth in their roles, Sean Bean, Taye Diggs, and Emily Watson.
If I was going to describe this movie for you, I would say it is a mix of The Matrix, The Giver, even elements of The Hunger Games can be found as this takes place in a distopian society.
While there is a lot of violence, it's not very bloody, though a few scenes may make you cringe. And if you are sensitive to the use of guns in films, then you may want to avoid this one, as guns are used about as often as they are in The Matrix.
I would say I enjoyed this film, though I'm not completely satisfied with the ending. It works, but I was almost left with feeling like there should have been a bit more...overall though, good story, with nicely done choreographed action scenes.
-Bethany
