"Code 46"
It is the none-too-distant future and genetic
engineering has altered the face of mankind. Wide
spread use of in vitro fertilization has weakened the
human gene pool and a law has been passed to prevent
genetically similar people from mating. If they do,
the resulting pregnancy will be terminated and the
offending act will be erased from their mind for the
violation of "Code 46."
Director Michael Winterbottom and scripter Frank
Cottrell Boyce have created a vision of the future and
it doesn't look too good. Rampant genetics have
divided the world in two. On one side, in the
controlled environment of the cities, are the
privileged, untarnished by genetic engineering and
allowed to travel once issued a papelle – a
combination passport, visa and insurance policy. On
the other hand, the shanty-towns that sprang up
between the cities and the encroaching deserts are
filled with non-citizens – those whose genetic
structure is tainted by the inbreeding caused by
world-wide use in vitro fertilization.
William Gold (Tim Robbins) is an insurance detective
sent to the Sphinx Insurance Company in Shanghai to
investigate a case of forged papelles. William,
traveling on a temporary, 24-hour papelle, has taken
an "empathy virus" that enhances his intuitive powers
to permit him to get to the bottom of the forgeries by
asking his subjects a few simple questions. He is
smitten with one of his interrogation subjects, Maria
Gonzalez (Samantha Morton), even after he deduces that
she is the document trafficker. He follows her after
work and the two soon tumble into a passionate,
short-lived affair. Then, William must return home.
But, the detective cannot get pretty Maria off of his
mind and obsesses over the young woman – a mood change
that is apparent to his wife, Sylvie (Jeanne Balibar).
Then, he learns that, since his investigation at
Sphinx, three people carrying the faked papelles have
died. His boss (Shelly King) sends him packing off to
Shanghai once again. This time, though, he is looking
for Maria as a lover and not a detective. He tracks
her down outside of the city and learns that she was
pregnant with his child. The pregnancy was aborted and
all memory of William was erased from Maria's mind.
The investigators problems multiply when he overstays
his own official papelle and is stranded far from home
with a woman who doesn't remember him.
Winterbottom and Cottrell Boyce keep the sci-fi
elements of "Code 46" as background story that drives
the actions of its protagonists but takes a back seat
to the love story between William and Marie.
Unfortunately, neither the romance nor the science
fiction is given enough shrift in this future world
story that eschews high technology for psychological
tensions. The film holds kinship to "Blade Runner,"
for obvious reasons, but the story foregoes the flying
cars and killer androids for a simpler tale about the
dangers of uncontrolled genetics and the love story
between William and Maria.
CGI effects take a back seat to conventional camera
techniques such as high saturation and bleaching to
give a washed out, futuristic look to "Code 46." Use
of exotic locales in China and the Middle East and
sparsely populated city scenes take you into William
and Maria's worlds as the doomed lovers spend their
brief but intense time together. The undercurrent of
genetics run amok – so much so that most people would
be incestuously involved in almost any relationship
they have – is the always inhibiting fact in their
lives.
"Code 46" looks like a sci-fi film without trying to
look like the future. Technology, in this future
world, has not advanced much beyond where we are now
and the high tech gadgets are more an enhancement of
what exists today rather that anything new and
different. The social mores depicted – Oedipal
relationships, restricted travel, the controversy over
genetics – all stem from our present and the
filmmakers simply extrapolate the current issues into
their future story.
The acting is about as near to basic as is possible.
Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton, as William and Maria,
are virtually the only characters of any real note
throughout the film. A problem I have, though, is that
I never understood the attraction or chemistry between
these two – unless you take a real leap and accept
that their close genetic ties would facilitate a
passionate relationship in a few short hours. This
would be a big leap. Small roles are well handled but
just too miniscule to make a real difference.
Techs are tops for a relatively low budget film.
Cinematography by Alwin H. Kuchler and Marcel Zyskind
(who also shot Winterbottom's harrowing film, "In this
World") is striking, at times, especially when it gets
out into the world of cities and deserts. Production
design by Mark Tildesley gives the futuristic look but
still grounds things in the reality of today. Modern
Shanghai really fits the bill as a city of the future.
Clever manipulation of language that combines English,
Spanish and Asian dialects into a Spanglish-like
hodgepodge smacks of how things are going. (Even
today, I can walk across my American home town and
hear Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese/Cambodian, Russian
and one or two Indian dialects and barely hear a word
of English. It will be a very small leap to a time
when a combination of languages rolled into one will
be the norm. Such is the world melting pot we live
in.)
I can't believe that I would say this but the problem
with "Code 46" is that it is too short. There is ample
opportunity to flesh things beyond the ambiguous,
under-finished film we have here. I don't want things
handed to me but there are things – like the
instantaneous passion between William and Maria – that
seem too rushed and under-defined. It is an
interesting but flawed effort. I give it a B-.
For more Reeling reviews visit www.reelingreviews.com
robin@reelingreviews.com
laura@reelingreviews.com
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