'What Happened to Monday' Is Unable to Do Something Great with Seven Noomi Rapaces

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.