Code 46

The first movie I watched in 2005 was the spooky sci-fi romance Code 46 with Tim Robbins and the lovely Samantha Morton. The film was ambitious, but failed to deliver like I think it could have. Set in the near future, the film deals with Code 46, a law that forbids sex between people who due to cloning share either partial or full DNA similiarities. Interesting. Add in some exotic locales like Shanghi, Dubai and dialogue peppered with french, spanish and arabic (I'm assuming to show that in the future language has become global) and you have quite an undertaking for a guy like director Michael Winterbottom. (24 Hour Party People) In any case, Mike is up for the challenge, but I think the script is too thin. There isn't enough to chew on. I wasn't as bothered by the lack of chemistry between Robbins and Morton like some critics were, but I do think watching Tim Robbins make love to not only Morton, but another actress as well, is kind of creepy. Not as creepy as fucking Susan Sarandon I suppose.

The visuals are awesome and the final shots of the dessert set to Coldplay are really stunning. But I wanted more. It was like a light version of Eternal Sunshine, a movie that deals with memory erasing from a different angle. Oh wait, I left out the memory erasing element of Code 46. So apparently if you violate the code and bang someone who shares your DNA, they whisk you off and erase your memory of the event. And abort your fetus should your liaison lead to procreation status. Like I said, spooky. If you did sci-fi themes and don't mind slower moving pictures a la Solaris, then rent this shit. I ain't saying I'm sorry I watched, I'm just saying I won't be watching it again.