About The Movie:
Warm Bodies is a poignant tale about
the power of human connection. After a zombie epidemic, R (a highly unusual
zombie) encounters Julie (a human survivor), and rescues her from a zombie
attack. Julie sees that R is different from the other zombies, and as the two
form a special relationship in their struggle for survival, R becomes
increasingly more human - setting off an exciting, romantic, and often comical
chain of events that begins to transform the other zombies and maybe even the
whole lifeless world.
What Is Good/Bad About The Movie:
Creating a conventional zombie movie
is easy. All you need to do is take a
group of human survivors from all walks of life, stick them in a closed
environment, and a) let them tear themselves apart, b) let the flesh-eating
monsters tear them apart, or c) both. But in adapting Isaac Marion’s
best-selling novel Warm Bodies writer/director Jonathan Levine has taken any
anything-but-conventional approach and the result is one of the most
refreshingly creative zombie movies in recent memory.
The movie certainly employs the
classic elements of the subgenre, including the undead’s shuffling walk and
intense desire for human brains/flesh, but that’s just the base from which Warm
Bodies begins. R, the lead character/zombie played by Nicholas Hoult, is a
mumbling, trundling creature on the outside, but with the use of rare effective
voice-over narration the film is able to explore the inner ennui of the walking
dead like never before – not to mention the passion inspired in him when he
first meets Julie (Teresa Palmer).
In this film brains aren’t just
sustenance for zombies, but they actually allow the creatures to relive the
memories of the people they’re eating. There are also two distinct types of
zombies-- your standard brain eaters as well as what are called Bonies, who
have lost every last shred of their humanity. And did you know that zombies
can’t dream? That’s only a fraction of the innovation that Warm Bodies brings
to the table.
The trickiest change of all is the
introduction of love to the zombie world. It’s a hard sell to say the least,
but it’s pulled off with aplomb thanks to strong character development and
smart pacing. Because Levine gives us access to R’s mind, the hero is advanced
from mindless, cannibalistic cadaver to empathetic lead who we actually want to
see find happiness. And on the other side of the relationship we have Julie,
who is strong, independent, cute and totally deserving of R’s and our
affection. Add in the smart, deliberate pace that lets Julie gets used to her
undead companion, and the result is a relationship that’s more solid than most
of those between two actual humans.
By its nature of being a zom-rom-com
Warm Bodies ranges between wide array of tones, but just like he did with his
last feature 50/50, Levine has no trouble navigating it. The central
relationship is sweet without being cloying or saccharine; John Malkovich’s
General Grigio (who also happens to be Julie’s father) heightens the drama and
stakes to exactly where they need to be; and while the film isn’t particularly
scary, it does feature its fair share of thrills. And it’s laugh out loud funny
to boot. R’s inner-monologue is filled with awkward angst (“This date is not
going well. I want to die all over again”), his zombie pal M (Rob Corddry) is
loaded with monosyllabic zingers, and you can’t help but laugh out loud when R
is getting a quick makeover to look more human and Julie’s friend Nora
(Analeigh Tipton) begins to play Roy Orbison's “Oh, Pretty Woman” on her iPod.
As R becomes closer to Julie he
starts to become more human again, Levie mirrors this evolution beautifully in
his direction. When we first meet R stumbling around the local airport just
going about his day to day life the colors are muddled and everything is shaded
over with an ugly green tint, but as he begins to develop Levine begins to make
things brighter and sharper to reflect the character’s outlook and mindset.
While I wouldn’t recommend it – as you would miss all of the funny jokes and
story – you could watch Warm Bodies on mute and fully grasp the movie’s
development through its use of color alone.
Looking forward to this one.
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