The past. Not an entity where contemporary perceptions tend to
vary. What’s done is done right? Mr. Nobody, a film by
Jaco Van Dormael, explores and reimagines this notion and the theory of the
Arrow of Time: the idea that time moves in only one direction.
A simplistic sketch of the film’s plot: By 2092
the world has moved on to become a futuristic utopia, but a dreary one. The
cityscape is spotless, sterile. Sex between humans no longer exists. Obsessive
organization and celebrity talk shows reign. 118 year-old Nemo Nobody, the last
living mortal, the last human remnant of the old world recounts his life to a
reporter.
“Why does the smoke never go back into the cigarette? Why do the
molecules spread away from each other? Why does a spilled drop of ink never
reform?” As the laws of entropy take the universe further and further into
a state of disarray what will happen when we hit maximum entropy? When total
chaos bestills nothingness?
Mr. Nobody is not exactly hot off the reels. It’s a 2009 film that was on my
must watch list. Despite so many awesome elements, the cinematic culmination of Mr. Nobody was
rather disappointing. Mostly, the scenes tended to drag on. This was 100
minutes worth of great material stretched over the course of 155 minutes. When
the film flashes back to the various paths of Nemo’s past, much time is spent
on creating aesthetically pleasing shots. This bogs the story down. It’s as if Van
Dormael couldn’t decide what was more important, story, or aesthetics, and so some
of these long-winded scenes feel contrived, as if the aesthetics served no
purpose other than themselves. Beautiful cinema is great on it’s own, but with
a storyline as complex as Mr. Nobody’s, the
aesthetics should serve to support the plot and the characters, which at times,
did not happen.
Overall the film is still worth the watch.
7/10
7/10
