Mute Review
If there was one name that got me excited almost a
decade ago for science fiction, it was Duncan Jones. He exploded on the scene,
at a moment notice, not really giving any sort of warning, and he changed a
genre that really hadn’t been treated with respect in a long time. The first
time I had heard the name was for a 2009 film called “Moon.” It had many
parallels to Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” But, Jones clearly took
some similarities and made a movie which entirely belongs to him. There were moments
I never saw coming and that’s always exciting. In 2011, he made “Source Code,”
again he put a stellar cast together. Again, he was dabbling in science
fiction. Again, it felt like he was borrowing from other movies, but he made it
his own and featured some story beats that I didn’t see coming. Yes, he
directed the corporate fodder “WarCraft” but even the best of the business has
dark spots in their careers and sometimes you can’t totally trust somebody who
has never failed.
Over the weekend, Netflix released Duncan Jones’ new
film “Mute.” Again, Duncan Jones has brought together a great cast including
Alexander Skarsgard, Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux. Much like his previous
films, you can see other parallels to other films. There has already been many
comparisons to “Blade Runner 2049.” But I am not sure I quite understand that
one. Sure, both films take place in the future. Sure, both films are incredibly
gorgeous to look at, but honestly, that’s where the similarities stop. I guess
Ryan Gosling and Alexander Skarsgard’s characters are similar; silent, somber,
brooding heroes. Skarsgard plays Leo. As a child, his throat was damaged in a
freak accident, taking away his ability to speak. He’s grown up not ever
uttering a word, but he’s still found love in Naadirah, played by Seyneb Saleh.
They both work at a club together, and they are both very much in love. After
one night, she’s being heckled by some assholes, and its Leo who steps in and
stops them. Then the next day, she’s gone. Without a trace and Leo doesn’t even
know where to look.
For a huge portion of the movie, there seems to be an entirely
separate story going on involving Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd) and Duck (Justin
Theroux). They are partners, best friends, maybe lovers. (I could never figure
out if they were romantically involved, experimenting with their sexuality, or
just weird friends. The movie does very little to explain this). They work as
surgeons who work on people for the local mob. Cactus Bill is saving money to
get from Berlin (where the film takes place) to the United States, and he needs
his boss to forge documents for him and his daughter (further confusing the
matter of Duck and Bill’s relationship).
Cactus Bill is connected to a man that attacked
Naadirah in the opening moments of the film, and eventually Leo and Cactus Bill
will run into each other. But honestly, I can’t go any further. I am never one
to get into the way of spoilers. Of course there are some big reveals, this is
a Duncan Jones movie. There are going to be big reveals. I am just not sure if
those reveals were enough to save the movie from some of its pitfalls.
First of all, again, the film is gorgeous. This is a
breath-taking look at the future. There are futuristic buildings, vehicles and
technology has taken over most aspects of life, you have to be careful walking
into a strip club, because the dancers may or may not be human beings. There
are some things that are clever. There are things that made me laugh. Heck, I
may watch the movie again just to soak up every detail that Jones packs into the
film. Perhaps that is why there are so many comparisons to “Blade Runner,”
there are designs that feel connected to that world.
People unable to speak seem like hard characters to
play. I think Alexander Skarsgard deserves some massive credit for bringing
together a character that comes to life with facial expressions and body
language. He is a fully realized character here, and he feels real. Never does
he feel like he’s overacting. Never does he feel artificial. It’s a wonderful
performance. I would also say that Justin Theroux does some very good work in
this movie too. I think he’s gone pretty underappreciated his entire career and
this is just another precious performance by the guy. I like Paul Rudd, but he’s
mostly a funny guy. There are some funny moments here that he nails, but Cactus
Bill is mostly a serious role. It’s become clear that Rudd is not a jack-of-all-trades
and there are some moments that do fall flat.
The thing is, it seems like Duncan Jones gave himself
too much, he bit off more than he could chew here. I like the idea of a mute
man going on a roaring rampage of revenge. But that’s not quite what happens
here. The two stories between Leo and Cactus Bill are so different that they
feel like they belong in different movies. They stay separate, despite a few
faint whispers, for most of the running time. When the big reveal is brought to
life, it nearly feels like a cop-out. Nearly. I think there is just enough
development and exposition for it to land, I just don’t think it was nurtured
to the point that would make the audience jaw drop. What’s also a little crazy
is how the movie limps on for another fifteen minutes after the big finish. There
is a moment that is ripe for a good ending, but the movie moves forward when it
really doesn’t need to.
If you saw “Moon” in 2009, then you’ll notice Sam
Rockwell in various moments in the film. In fact, you may catch more than one
of him in one scene. If you know “Moon,” you know what that means. Even though
this is billed as a “spiritual sequel” to “Moon” I am not sure I’d call it that.
This is a completely different movie with a moneyshot included. The Sam
Rockwell cameo doesn’t connect or move the film in any significant way. It’s
just kind of there, and while I am sure “Moon” fans get a kick out of it, it’s
really not needed. But alas, everybody is getting into the shared universe
business. I knew it would happen. Why would Duncan Jones be any different?
Netflix has made it clear that they are trying to do
more as a media platform then just buy independent films from festivals and
give them wider releases. They are really trying to be a huge player each
cinematic calendar year. “Bright,” “The Cloverfield Paradox” and now “Mute”
have proven that they are very much trying to play the mainstream blockbuster
game. So far, they’ve been mediocre at best, terrible at worst. For Netflix,
its all about how many people click on a new release and watch it which they
base their success on. It doesn’t matter if the audience openly likes the movie
or not. “Bright” isn’t getting a sequel because it was popular with people, its
getting a sequel because Netflix read their data and found out lots of people
watched it. Netflix is running a risk of being a platform where studios will
dump their junk on, and that’s not exactly what I hoped for within the company.
I hope they base their decisions on a balance of creativity and monetary gain. “Mute”
has its moments, its just a huge mess of a movie throughout much of its running
time. I don’t want just pretty messes, I want movies that will make an impact
on me. They can do better.
FINAL GRADE: C
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