Netflix’s newest release Mute, is the latest film from director Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code). In the works for a little over a decade, Jones’ science fiction film generated a lot of hype with the director comparing it to Don Quixote. Much to the shock of this visionary’s most devoted fans, Mute is disappointing to say the very least.
Taking place forty years into the future in the city of Berlin, the film is set within the same world and time as Moon.
Leo Beiler (Alexander Skarsgard) is a mute Amish bartender, who falls in love with a woman who becomes his only reason for living. She disappears, and Leo must fall deeper and deeper into the criminal underground of Berlin, filled with dangerous and treacherous people, to find her.
Aesthetically, the film is a sight to behold. Berlin shines with its futuristic color palette that can stand toe-to-toe with the best cyberpunk worlds. There is a sense of effort that Jones put into the visuals and all of it is realized in painstaking detail.
He clearly wanted to create an uproar of influences and cultures that all collided in a spectacular and bizarre way, whether in nightclubs, brothels or bowling alleys. This is the kind of film any director would dream of making. One where they have absolute freedom and a blank canvas to do as they wish.
Mute is an instance where creative freedom isn’t what was best for the project. It’s a two-hour long bore.
The most frustrating part of the film is that Jones has proven himself to be a good storyteller, but this feels like a rambling and overwritten chore to sit through.
Like a sports car with no engine, it looks nice but has no substance as Jones’ nonsensical two-hour movie just becomes too much. It features ridiculous and pointless side-plots and the inconsistency in its characters makes its wise to watch Mute on mute.
The film is certainly an interesting thing to look at. Jones has crafted a science-fiction world comparable to what Ridley Scott did with Blade Runner. He fills every corner of the screen with something cool to look at. Unfortunately, those looking for a decent story might not feel the need to sit through all the bright lights.
For those new to Jones’ filmography, Source Code and Moon are the way to go. For those wanting to satisfy their cyberpunk hunger, Altered Carbon is just another click away on Netflix.
