If Rats Could Talk....

The ISLAND tackles the concept of discrimination and prejudice using a different angle. Set sometime in the mid-21st century, you will be taken to a period when the rich-and-famous can afford to live longer by creating clones of themselves in the hope of getting an endless supply of body organs and tissues to be used for replacement for worn-out body parts ravaged either by disease or accidents. Each clone costs around US$5 million.

In the film, two clones --- Lincoln Six-Echo (Ewan McGregor) and Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson) discover the truth painfully when they uncovered the truth behind the lie of a false lottery reward termed "the island." Along with the other clones, both Lincoln and Jordan inhabit a huge utopian center where they live a systematic and uniform life, which can also be described as boring. The only happiness of resident clones is the promise of winning the lottery which promises to send the winner to "the island" for a vacation.

In reality, "the island" is nothing but a poor excuse to harvest the needed body organs from the clones. So, while winners exhibit undescribable happiness winning the lottery, they really don't know the horrible nightmare that awaits them.

Lincoln is an aberration to the harmony imposed in the utopian facility. He has recurrent dreams of being in a boat and escaping the facility. He also questions why they are there, why they are doing their repetitive tasks in the facility, and what awaits all residents. Dr. Merrick (Sean Bean), the facility's founder and doctor, is also puzzled with Lincoln's erratic behavior. When Lincoln and Jordan escaped, Merrick hired Albert Laurent (Djimou Hounsou) to initially capture the escaped clones, but as the days passed, finally decided to have them killed.

Checking its performance and critics' reviews, I felt disappointed that it is not number 1 in the US box office and the amazing thumbs-down given by most movie critics. Most were probably disappointed with Michael Bay's fast paced setting and explosions. With me, it was perfectly fine, relevant, and typical of a Mike Bay film like his Pearl Harbor and Armageddon.

I also think that the movie whose screenplay was done by Caspian Tredwell-Owen (he also wrote the screenplay for Beyond Borders) is very relevant as it tries to address a potential future scientific and ethical problem in the future. Can we really clone humans in the hope of prolonging life? If so, how do we treat and interact with clones? Will we consider them human or plain commodities which can be disposed of when we get their organs and tissues? Perhaps, a more relevant question is: Does a clone possess a soul? If lab rats and other animal specimens could talk, will we give them the time of day to speak their mind on how they are treated?

BOTTOMLINE: Brilliant movie. Watch it with an open mind. Fast-paced as expected. Johannson is lovely and poignant at the same time.