Review of “Equals” (spoilers)

* * C

Equals is a dystopian future science fiction film about Nia (Kirsten “Bella” Stewart) and Silas (

Nicholas “R” Hoult). After a future calamity, the remnant of humanity live in a society where all emotions are chemically suppressed. Silas falls prey to a ‘disorder’, becoming immune to the drugs. He falls in love with Nia, who is also immune.

In the third act, they seek to escape their society to live in the wilderness that is the only other part of the world that remains habitable. When Nia is called for artificial impregnation, the authorities discover that she is immune. The resistance fake her death, but Silas finds out and takes the recently developed ‘cure’, suppressing his emotions permanently. Nia finds him when it is too late.

The film is slow paced and fairly predictable. The parallels to Romeo and Juliet are so obvious that I suspected the ending well in advance of it. This would have made a good episode of Black Mirror, but as a feature film, I found it unsatisfying.

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