"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Warm Bodies (2013, PG-13)

Since I got past my zombie-aversion enough to watch (and love!) In the Flesh, I figured I could start wading into other zombie media I’ve heard good things about, and a bizarre rom-com seemed fairly safe.  We’ll see how long it takes to try out Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland – at this rate, I might be ready for The Walking Dead around 2025.  But seriously, folks…

Like In the Flesh, Warm Bodies doesn’t cover the usual zombie ground: initial realization of what’s happening, widespread infection, survivors succumbing one by one, etc.  At the start, society has largely fallen, and the last enclave of the living has retreated behind high concrete walls, emerging only to search the ruins of civilization for supplies.  But then, the living’s perspective is secondary.  The main focus is on R (that’s all he remembers of his name,) a young undead man frustrated with the ennui of day-to-day zombie activity.  Like his infected brethren, he feeds on the living, but, as he puts it, “at least [he’s] conflicted about it.”  And for R, the real draw in eating brains isn’t in the sustenance but the rush; as someone ingests brain, they’re hit with flashes of the victim’s memories.  These days, it’s the closest R gets to feeling human.

So where does the rom-com part come in?  Well, when R is out with a hunting party, he’s captivated by a survivor they come upon, and those feelings are put on overdrive after he feeds another member of her group – unbeknownst to R, her boyfriend.  Before R quite realizes what he’s doing, he helps the young woman, Julie, escape from his undead friends and attempts to hide her away in a rather misguided attempt at getting to know her.  Gradually, R finds himself better able to communicate and connect with Julie, and her fascination with his anomalous zombie behavior starts to overshadow her fear of him, wondering if he’s something new.

It’s a fun, creative movie, and not too bad zombie-wise (zombieism is only spread through the bites if the brain is left uneaten, and since “the brain is the best part,” the infection angle is limited.)  Without a doubt, the film’s strongest point is R’s internal monologue.  While at first, he’s on par with his zombie peers as far as articulation goes, he keeps a running mental commentary that’s sharp, funny, and at odds with his shambling, slurring exterior.  He has lots of thoughts; he just can’t get his mind and his mouth to work together, which clearly exasperates him.  In his head, he complains about how slow he and his friends are or, with Julie, instructs himself, “Don’t be creepy.”  I also like that, even before he meets Julie, R feels out of place among his kind.  He has a private hangout where he keeps a collection of knickknacks (like snow globes and bobbleheads) and listens to music on vinyl.  Seeing R in his little nest reminds me of the beginning of WALL*E, something I never thought I’d say about a zombie movie.

The movie stars Nicholas Hoult (Tony on Skins, more recently Nux in Mad Max:  Fury Road,) which is mainly how it first caught my attention  He does a great job with R’s slow evolution, and his voiceover work on R’s inner monologue is a riot.  The film also features Rob Corrdry as one of R’s zombie buddies, and John Malkovich and Dave Franco as human survivors.


Warnings

Zombie violence and language.

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