What Happened to Monday is a dystopian science fiction thriller film
set in a not-so-distant future where scientists have genetically engineered high
yield crops in order to combat the severe food shortage happening around the
world due to overpopulation and climate change. However, the genetic tinkering done on crops
have resulted to increased fertility, as twins and more are birthed at a
staggering rate, putting further strain on the overpopulation problem. To address this, politician Nicolette Cayman
(Glenn Close) prompts the passing of the Child Allocation Act, which only
allows one child per couple. A cold-hearted
organization called the Child Allocation Bureau (CAB) is created to enforce
this.
The focus of the story is on
identical septuplets (all played by Noomi Rapace) who have been raised and
trained by their grandfather (Willem Dafoe) to live a life sharing one identity:
Karen Settman – based on their late mother’s name. The sisters are named after the days of the
week, and they take turns going out to the world as Karen Settman based on what
day it is – Sunday on Sundays, Monday on Mondays, Tuesday on Tuesdays, and so
on. They have managed to successfully maintain
this façade for many years. Until one
day, their existence is thrown into shambles when Monday fails to get home from
work.
The premise is truly interesting. But the thinly-written story touches tropes
and themes that have been done to death. Hence, the film is not as exciting and insightful as it could have been. It never does anything notably special with
the mystery aspect of its plot. And as a
thriller, it fizzles quite a bit. However,
the flashbacks – where it’s shown how the girls were raised and trained by
their grandfather – do improve the energy of the storytelling.
Noomi Rapace’s performance is my
favorite thing about this movie. She’s
not as tremendous as Orphan Black’s
Tatiana Maslany, but she was able to provide the distinctive personality nuances
for the various sisters. Unfortunately,
the script doesn’t offer the opportunity for deeper explorations regarding identity
and conformity, which could have allowed Noomi to flesh out her characters more.
In the end, What Happened to Monday couldn’t exploit Noomi Rapace’s dedication and talents to tell a more engaging narrative.
Brilliant as she was in Orphan Black, Tatiana Maslany didn’t get the chance to play seven characters in
one scene – something that Rapace did in this movie. But the film lacks the style and vision to
match the potential of such riveting visual concept.
No comments:
Post a Comment