Code 46 Review
by Andy Keast (arthistoryguy AT aol DOT com)November 22nd, 2004
"Code 46" (2003): *** out of ****
Directed by Michael Winterbottom. Screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce. Starring Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton, Essie Davis, David Fahm and Togo Igowa.
by Andy Keast
Michael Winterbottom's "Code 46" is a suitable example of the "interesting failure." He and his screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce succeed at creating a probable vision of the future: a dystopia characterized by birth regulations and genetic passcodes, and inhabited by a laconic people who view a human display of emotion as abnormal behavior -all under the umbrella of a Big Brother-like entity known as "Sphinx." Its flaw lies in its weak script mechanics: the film never entirely lets you in on what's happening or why. It almost feels like raw feed from the future, with all the differences between now and then assumed. We're lost half of the time.
Not that I minded. What you may have heard is true: if William Gibson had authored "Brief Encounter," this would more than likely be the result. Tim Robbins plays William Geld, a sort-of futurist version of an ATF agent investigating an underground trade in papelles. Papelles are, from what I gather, genetically-encoded "travel visas" allowing (or disallowing) civilians to move from one city zone to another. His prime suspect is Maria Gonzalez (Samantha Morton), whose name suggests that the gene pool of Winterbottom's future has amalgamated beyond ethnic lines (everyday speech is an alloy of English, Spanish and nonce words). The two meet and begin an illegal affair, illegal due to laws regarding population control and genetic homogeneity, and the Code 46 of the title refers to an unauthorized conception.
It's thin. What one takes from the film are its futurisms, which hail from the imaginations of authors like Gibson and from, inescapably, "Nineteen Eighty-four." The theme of Love Versus the State has been around ever since there was a State, but I was thankful for the way Winterbottom immersed (drowned?) me in that theme nonetheless. Alwin Kuchler, who shot "Morvern Callar," again uses the techniques of "hyper-reality" to great effect (locations included Shanghai, Dubai, Rajasthan and Hong Kong). Together with music by the Free Association, it casts a spell.
I'm guessing many who see it may not enjoy it for the most part. However, I'm giving it a positive review primarily for the effort made by the filmmakers to spin intelligent, convincing science fiction -liberated from reliance on visual effects and action set pieces. The beauty of the best sci-fi is in its precognition: it's the fiction of ideas and what *could* be, by one of many definitions. "Code 46" is that fiction. It's a mess, but an intriguing one.
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