Code 46 - Michael Winterbottom

 

I became a fan of Michael Winterbottom when I saw the film "24 Hour Party People." In that film he was talking about music and bands that I loved. He also did another film focused on music named "9 Songs" which I think is brilliant. So, after two great films I started watching anything and everything I could of his. There are a number of his films that I have seen, but do not own because they are out of print, or they are films that watching them once was enough. For example, The Trip series with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. They are really interesting films, but not enough for me to watch more than once. However, Winterbottom has such a great way of telling stories.

Code 46 is one of those stories. You may read that it is a retelling of Oedipus, and certainly there are aspects that could be that, however I feel that the film goes much further into the possible issues with genetic engineering and cloning people. Starring Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton, Code 46 starts out with visuals of brown desert land where some camps of some sort are visible. While this is being show, we see a text on the screen telling us what Code 46 is, and ramifications of breaking that code. The code is essentially stating that anyone who had a genetic code that matches 25% or more is not allowed to be in any sort of relationship. Eventually you realize that this is necessary due to all the cloning that has taken place, and so people get genetically tested before they get into any sort of relationship. While we are seeing these visuals, and a visual of Tim Robbins landing and being driving across the desert into a super modern and future looking Shanghai, we also hear a voice over by Samantha Morton who is playing Maria. As with a lot of Winterbottom films, the pieces of the puzzle are being presented to the audience and they may not fit together right away, but give it time and patience and they will. The voice over is from Maria's perspective looking back at what happens in the story, like she is narrating her internal view of what we see on screen, but her internal view is from her perspective at the end of the film in some ways. It is really a wonderful bit of art. 

The setting is very much a futuristic landscape and society. The society is divided by those who are inside (living in big cities, and following the law), and those outside (living in the desert, and making due). The languages are all mixed together so while a lot of English is used, it is also spattered with French, Spanish, and Chinese. For some reason that is not really explained, the people in the city sleep during the day and work at night. They believe that the sun is harmful to them, but no real reason is provided in the film. There is some great poetic writing. I also really enjoyed how there is a lot of scientific tech stuff happening, but still some simple things as still using gas stoves, or moka pots to make stove top coffee.

So, the story...William (Tim Robbins) is sent to Shanghai to investigate at a company named The Sphinx. He is there to investigate fake papers that are being given out. It seems like he has great intuition, or that he can read minds, and for this investigation (in which he has a limited cover to be in Shanghai) he has taken an Empathy virus to make him more empathetic which will help with his job. He runs into Maria by chance, and when Maria is called up to be interviewed by him, he certainly does not play by the rules. Then again, neither does she. So we eventually find out that William is married with a child, and yet he still has an affair with Maria. (spoiler alert: knowing there is an affair between a married man and a single woman, you can almost guess who still has a job and a fulfilling life, and who is relocated to the outside at the end of the film, who takes most of the blame and punishment). There is more to say but I don't want to give away too much plot. However, let this quick trigger warning be put out there. There is a sex scene that happens that looks very much like it is nonconsensual which is troubling, though it makes sense within the context of the film. However, it is a difficult part of the film.

The style of the film is very Winterbottom - a sense of guerrilla filming, handheld, in the moment, on location... that feel to it. It is very intimate. Also, the soundtrack is amazing. Finally, if you watch the trailer, I found it to be very deceiving. The trailer makes it seem like a fast action film, but this is not that. This is a slow burn, and really worth it.