(USA, 118 min.)
Dir. Tarsem Singh, Writ. David Pastor, Alex Pastor
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez, Matthew Goode,
Ben Kingsley, Victor Garber, Michelle Dockery
 |
| Courtesy of VVS Films. |
Canada’s Ryan Reynolds faces the future in Self/Less! This sci-fi/thriller, which
is much better than reviews during its theatrical release suggest, is an
ambitious flick that mixes high-concept innovation with fast-paced escapism. It’s
smart, entertaining, and just ridiculous enough to be compulsively watchable.
Reynolds stars as Damian, or, he stars as Damian in Adam’s body. The older Damian, the physical one, first comes in the form of Ben Kingsley. The elder Damian is a wealthy phlegmatic man, a condo tycoon dying of cancer who dreams of immortality. His unshakable sense of power (and entitlement) leads him to investigate a business card and the concept of “shedding,” which introduces him to Dr. Albright (Matthew Goode) and one of those proposals that more than meets the adage, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Shedding, in this case, is the ballsy procedure that transplants the mind of a living person into the body of a dead one—like a kidney transplant in reverse but much more complicated.
Damian goes for the deal and opts to cheat death. Dr.
Albright slides him through the shedder, a whirly CAT-scan thing that looks
ominously dangerous. And poof! Damian
wakes up with a full head of hair and way better pecs. Like a snake, he’s shed
his skin and regenerated.
In Reynolds’ body, Damian enjoys the riches of youth. He
jogs. He parties. He bangs chick after chick in a lengthy montage of bedrooms
and perky breasts. Shedding offers fountain of youth that basically lets any
wheezing and ill person leave the hospital for a bacchanal.
Shedding, appropriately enough, is a snaky business. The
evils of the procedure reveal themselves soon enough as fragments of
unfamiliar(ish) memories invade Damian’s mind. These images are dreamy and
surreal at first—the few signature calling cards in Self/Less that say one is watching a Tarsem Singh film—and they
become more real and urgent the more they pop up. Damian, plagued by déjà vu
and queasiness, returns to Dr. Albright for a diagnosis. These memories are
elements of the man behind Damian’s new body trying to come through and live. The
side effect of shedding is murder.
Killing off Ben Kingsley for Ryan Reynolds makes a
surprisingly fair trade (and feels less incongruous than the unexpectedly
strong pairing of Reynolds with Dame Helen Mirren in Woman in Gold). Self/Less
demands that the actors parallel their actions and mannerisms to bring one
character to life in another man’s body. It’s effective, even if Damian looks
awkward—purposely so—when he delivers stealthy military-grade kicks and
punches.
Self/Less stumbles
somewhat as it switches gears from the conceptual to the kinetic as Damian
becomes a man on the run as he investigates the life left behind by Adam, the
man whom he thought “donated” his body to the cause. A few loony set pieces
introduce some wild action and unexpected shoot-outs. Echoes of Looper abound as Damian finds himself at
the country home of his body protecting the wife and family of his carrier. The
speculative element of Self/Less fades
in and out of the film as the action spirit overrides the sci-fi—a bit like the
way that Adam slips through Damian’s mind with schizophrenic power—but it returns
strongly as writers David Pastor and Alex Pastor turn the “what if” question
back on Damian and the film asks if a person can take one life to save another.
The film remains wildly entertaining even as the intelligence level gradually
declines and then sharply drops in its riotous finale. Reynolds’ performance
lends it enough credibility as Damian and the doctor have the silliest
operating room scene since The Rock ripped off his body cast in Furious 7. Just go with it.
The first half of the film offers stronger material, though,
as Singh delivers a science-fiction premise that feels perfectly, normally
real. The concept of shedding sounds perfectly plausible and the evenness with
which Self/Less presents it leaves
one wondering not so much if it could happen, but rather when such a procedure
will be realized. Nothing in the film looks like the future, aside from the slickly
editing action and the flashy lab that only looks a few years ahead of today. Self/Less is a sci-fi film of the
present, and the sense of possibility is immensely intriguing.
The disc:
A/V: Self/Less’s 1080p HD transfer is clean
and consistent, but the True HD audio is more impressive. The crisp sound
effects and layered audio allow film buffs to enjoy Self/Less at a high volume without rattling the bass and speakers
too much.
The bonus features:
Bonus features on Self/Less leave a
little to be desired. Commentary by
director Tarsem Singh and the usual behind-the-scenes bonus highlight
approaches to the characters, setting, and aesthetics. (The chat on the
CAT-scan production design is interesting.) The disc includes a featurette on
shedding, which one wishes were a fuller item. The featurette clocks in at
under three minutes and offers sound bites from Reynolds and screenwriters
David Pastor and Alex Pastor, as well as a few words from neuroscientists who
explain the potential and theory behind the premise. It’s interesting to hear
the experts suggest that the concept isn’t as farfetched as one might think it
to be, so there’s room to expand upon the theories behind it and to explore the
deeper questions that add a dark side to the film.
Rating: ★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Self/Less is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital platforms
from VVS Films.
