Sonicanimus

http://movies.iconocritic.com/?title=the-top-9-unknown-sci-fi-films-to-look-o-2009&more=1&c=1&tb=1&p



Synopsis: "Director/screenwriter Gerald McMorrow makes his feature debut with this ambitious psychological sci-fi drama set between contemporary London and the dystopic Meanwhile City, where the separation between church and state has been obliterated to make way for a religion-dominated society. As atheist vigilante Jonathan Preest (Ryan Phillippe) prepares to seek revenge against Meanwhile City's powerful leader, privileged artist Emilia (Eva Green) finds her cynicism and depression accelerated by the difficult relationship she shares with her mother. Meanwhile, sensitive Milo (Sam Riley) attempts to recover from a recent heartache, just as deeply religious Peter (Bernard Hill) arrives in London to search for his missing son, a haunted Gulf War veteran. As the narrative shifts between the real and imaginary worlds, McMorrow explores the complex relationships between fantasy, faith, and love."

Why watch?: When I first heard of this film my mind was immediately drawn to the similarities between the mask of Franklyn and that of Rorschach from The Watchmen universe, but after getting past that and looking into the story more I became quite intrigued by the complex nature of the narrative. What seems like a mix of Dark City and V for Vendetta could turn out to be the cult sleeper hit of the year and could help launch Ryan Phillipe's career back into A list status. I'm extremely drawn to the religious story lines intertwined with a dystopian world where vigilantes serve to protect the righteous and punish the corrupt. It seems like a world which superficially seems black and white, but once you dive deeper you see that everything isn't so right or wrong, ethical or immoral, legal or illegal and that there's a gray area we all live in. This is a perfect example of a film maker working through his limitations and creating something quite special using very limited resources with a measly budget of just over 8 million USD (1 of which was donated by the UK film council) to shoot dozens of different time periods and locations. This film has the potential to be about so much more than what it seems on the outside and only a unique story teller such as new comer Gerald McMorrow has the power to give us a glimpse into the creative mind of such a fresh film maker.