MORGAN
****
Director: Luke Scott
Screenwriter: Seth Owen
Principal cast:
Kate Mara
Anya Taylor-Joy
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Paul Giamatti
Michelle Yeoh
Toby Jones
Country: USA
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 92 mins.
Australian release date: 17 November 2016
In a similar vein to last year’s Ex-Machina, this directorial debut feature, Morgan, from Luke Scott, the son of the great Ridley, delves into a future when humankind is tinkering with bio-engineering.
When Lee Weathers (Kate Mara), a corporate risk manager, turns up at an isolated facility to assess the behavioural ‘errors’ exhibited by an artificially created humanoid, Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy), she finds that many of the doctors and staff (a rather stellar cast that includes Toby Jones, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Giamatti and Michelle Yeoh) are somewhat conflicted about their charge’s aberrant behaviour. We learn that it is their hope that Morgan will be a symbol of ‘peace and synthetic existence’ but recently she’s had a little freak out, one with far from peaceful consequences. From the opening credits we are taken on a cerebral mystery/sci-fi journey with a rising body count and many references to films of the same genre but with an enigma at its heart.
Morgan is a film that grabs you from the get-go while at times making you squirm in your seat. The allusion to Sir John Everett Millais’ famous painting of Ophelia, in the film’s final moments, leaves you wondering if Scott’s and scriptwriter Owen’s subtext is about the waste of potential life. As Victor Frankenstein learnt, when you play God you’ve got to be careful because sometimes your creations don’t want to play with you, and, even if they do, they may play a little rough! Profound indeed.
Screenwriter: Seth Owen
Principal cast:
Kate Mara
Anya Taylor-Joy
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Paul Giamatti
Michelle Yeoh
Toby Jones
Country: USA
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 92 mins.
Australian release date: 17 November 2016
In a similar vein to last year’s Ex-Machina, this directorial debut feature, Morgan, from Luke Scott, the son of the great Ridley, delves into a future when humankind is tinkering with bio-engineering.
When Lee Weathers (Kate Mara), a corporate risk manager, turns up at an isolated facility to assess the behavioural ‘errors’ exhibited by an artificially created humanoid, Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy), she finds that many of the doctors and staff (a rather stellar cast that includes Toby Jones, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Giamatti and Michelle Yeoh) are somewhat conflicted about their charge’s aberrant behaviour. We learn that it is their hope that Morgan will be a symbol of ‘peace and synthetic existence’ but recently she’s had a little freak out, one with far from peaceful consequences. From the opening credits we are taken on a cerebral mystery/sci-fi journey with a rising body count and many references to films of the same genre but with an enigma at its heart.
Morgan is a film that grabs you from the get-go while at times making you squirm in your seat. The allusion to Sir John Everett Millais’ famous painting of Ophelia, in the film’s final moments, leaves you wondering if Scott’s and scriptwriter Owen’s subtext is about the waste of potential life. As Victor Frankenstein learnt, when you play God you’ve got to be careful because sometimes your creations don’t want to play with you, and, even if they do, they may play a little rough! Profound indeed.