'Mute' A Review

Mute is a sci-fi neo-noir straight-to-Netflix release, from writer/directer Duncan Jones, taking place in the same world as his exceptional 2009 freshman feature Moon. Like The Cloverfield Paradox it is abundantly clear why it was sold to Netflix preempting a theatrical release, it is very bad. The movie opens on a young Amish boy floating in a lake, mangled by a boating accident, we then see his mother refuse treatment at the hospital rendering him mute. Flash forward 30 years Leo(Alexander Skarsgård) lives in futuristic Berlin(why? it's unclear) and works as a bartender at a club(is it a strip club, sex club of some kind? it's unclear). His girlfriend Naadirah(Seyneb Saleh) is a waitress at the club, she of course has a murky past, and after Leo assaults a patron for harassing her and later that night she disappears. We are also introduced to Cactus(Paul Rudd) and Duck(Justin Theroux) two American army medics working for a local gangster. Leo sets off to find is lost love whatever the cost.

The cast no doubt has talent but the clunky script, protracted banal plotting, and characters that are thin to incoherent prevent any of the actors from doing anything interesting. Skarsgård is grossly miscast and very clearly out of his depth unable to give his silent character any believability let alone weight. His major acting choice seems to be opening his eyes wide. He gives you no reason to care beyond the fundamental confusion of the character's base line existence. A mute Amish bartender in a future robot strip club? I don't get it and seemingly neither did Skarsgård as he very clearly and disastrously flounders. Saleh is better as she at least has a character that makes some kind of sense, albeit a tired over-used trope. She is putting forth substantial effort but cannot breathe any freshness into the hamstrung hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold she's given. Rudd and Theroux's characters are at times repulsive and illogical. There's a lack of motivation and clarity for every character throughout the film. Many of the performances are also pained by accents which are unwieldy combos(Russian/Caribbean, German/Nondescript speech impediment) preventing basic understanding for extended sections.

The production design is mildly intriguing but with Netflix's own Altered Carbon and with last fall's Blade Runner 2049 doing this very same thing with substantial more flash and style Mute can't help but fall flat, feel derivative. Visuals and score aside it is the story, the script, which causes this promising idea to crash and burn. The noir construct is dated and borderline offensive as it is too devout to its 1940's inspiration. The context for not only each character but the entire world are so miraculously unclear the genre aspect of the film almost comes off as a spoof. Why are their Amish in future Berlin? What war are these American medics AWOL from? Why does this Amish guy live in Berlin and work at this club? How'd he even get the job in the first place? Was there a fight choreographer? Why the hell is pedophilia a subplot? It goes on and on.

A well enough made film where almost all the elements are subpar. The script, which feels like a twenty year old rough draft, needed significant revision. Although this is undoubtedly a failure Jones maintains promise of better efforts to come.

Don't See It.