Expired
Expired
Expired (2022) Reel 2 Reel Films
Written and directed by Ivan Sen, starring Ryan Kwanten as Jack, Jillian Nguyen as April and Hugo Weaving as Dr. Bergman and set in the near future in a grimy, dark and damp Hong Kong, the chilly romance of ‘Expired’ takes its stylistic cues from such dystopian futuristic tales as Blade Runner and The Fifth Element.
Punctuated by swooping aeriel shots of this city of winking lights and towering skyscrapers, much of the action takes place in the dirty back alleys and grubby flats on the sunless ground.
Troubled soul Jack walks the streets brooding over his miserable, abandoned childhood, as he pursues the illegal androids, facsimile humans that are so close to the original, they are indistinguishable, except to a few experts, like Jack. Dispatching them with his laser pointer gun, Jack picks up a little money for his efforts, without the morality of it all ever making even a slight impression on him.
He spends his lonely spare hours frequenting the karaoke bars and brothels which offer him little comfort beyond bodily contact and a temporary illusion of affection. It’s in one of the karaoke bars, a red-curtained corridor with private side rooms, that he meets April. Chosen from among a depressing line-up of bored looking reluctant geishas, April takes the private stage in a kimono and sings a bland love song to Jack, trying to engage him in light conversation afterwards. Conscious that she can’t see him from behind the glass, Jack resolves to visit another night, and ask her out on a date.
The pacing of ‘Expired’ reflects Jack’s numb, tedious life, a slow saunter through this alienating landscape.
Jack and April begin to see each other, sometimes a shared box of strawberries at April’s tiny, shabby flat, sometimes at a walk-in restaurant, and they unfold their life stories to each other. Jack’s loveless upbringing by one neglectful parent and April’s escape from poverty in native Vietnam and her disappointment at still being poor in one of the world’s richest cities, are told in whispers for solace.
That their love has no future is almost superfluous to mention, and Jack’s discovery that his increasingly poor health is the result of a childhood experiment will come as little surprise to sci fi fans, but that’s not to detract from what is basically an economically made, sensitively handled story in a familiar film setting.
‘Expired’ is out on all UK platforms from 7th November.
Trailer;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSRRg1mhtUM&feature=youtu.be
Scenester1964
10/11/2022
