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Film Review
The Island
Distributor : Roadshow, 2005
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Michael Bay
Review by Jenni van Wageningen
Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) lives in a modernistic and artificially
maintained environment. Together with many others in the same closed
colony, his life is sanitised and carefully monitored. We learn that
they are the fortunate survivors of a global catastrophe that has
resulted in the contamination of the outside world.
The hope of being chosen in a lottery to go to the Island, the only safe place outside the controlled area, gives the inhabitants a brighter future to look forward to. Lincoln, however, has some niggling doubts. Besides his puzzling nightmares, he begins to realise that not everything is as it appears. Eventually he discovers that the Island is a terrible deception.
The purpose for the existence of those in the colony is not to re-populate the earth. Each inhabitant is a clone of someone in the real world wealthy enough to pay for the creation of extra organs to be used in the case of illness or old age. Yet those in the outside world are unaware that the cloning of their cells has resulted in a human double and not just a set of spare parts. They too, have been deceived.
Residents selected for the Island face an inevitable death sentence as their organs are ‘harvested’.
In order to survive, Lincoln and his friend Jordan (Scarlett Johannsson) must escape and flee into the unknown real world.
A synopsis of the plot makes it clear that this movie is bristling with lunges at ethical and philosophical issues. In particular, there are very distinct echoes of stem cell research and an alarming picture of the consequences of human cloning.
The value and sanctity of human life, and the fact that it is more than the sum total of biological parts, is a major theme. As we begin to realise the real horror behind the existence of the colony, we also become aware that the basic human right of personal freedom can be abused in many ways.
Twenty first century western society emphasizes youth, health, quality of life, the needs of the consumer and the rights of the individual. These values play right into the hands of those with no conscience or a sense of responsibility. The ruthless director of the colony regards the human body as a machine that wears out. Those who can afford it can be fitted out with replacement parts. The Christian view, however, is a total contrast. The human body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, an earthly tent which will make way for a glorified body in the life to come.
The human clones nurture a false hope. They are deceived about who they are and the world outside, as well as the apparent Island paradise that awaits them. Their hope is false and hollow, leading only to death. All humans need to live in hope, but many choose to cling to what is false and cannot last. They fail to recognize who they are and understand the ultimate purpose of life.
These are some of the themes of this movie. However, it has very little depth. It states the obvious rather than wrestles with the issues and problems in a thoughtful and meaningful way.
Whereas it begins as a sci-fi futuristic movie, any ideas which look promising are completely obliterated by its deterioration into a chase thriller. The viewer is overwhelmed by so much violence and horrific injury that any message about the value of the human life is completely trampled to death. As well as this, the countless near misses, amazing escapes and coincidences push credibility beyond the limits.
But this will no doubt attract rather than repel many
viewers. They will also be drawn by the well-known main actors who have
not improved their standing by being part of this disappointing movie.
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