I am really enjoying a lot of the science fiction shows and movies Netflix has been offering us over the last few years, Altered Carbon and The Expanse are just a few of my favourites. It’s this enjoyment that has made me start watching some more offerings and with Lost in Space about to make a comeback on the platform it is a good time to be a sci-fi fan. One of the features I do like about Netflix is that it makes recommendations based on your recent viewings. This brings me to my next review What happened to Monday and To be honest I would have not watched this film if it wasn’t on my recommendations, just for the title alone but I am glad I did. Thanks, future technology.
Straight into the movie and we are shown a montage of real-world issues such as climate change, population control and many other problems that are affecting us today, regardless of you believing it or not. So I’m thinking about my carbon footprint and wondering if I am recycling enough and whoa! What’s happened to Glenn Close’s Nicolette Cayman the head of the Child Allocation Bureau’s face and just what is Cryo Sleep? What would you do if you suddenly found yourself responsible for seven baby siblings just as grandfather William Defoe Terrence Settman does? Well for some reason unbeknown to myself he decides to name them after each day of the week and I can feel my interest in this film start to really build. We are set in a dystopian future which looks both beautiful and shocking at the same time; moreover, I always realise that in this future that the only people who really feel the suffering are those at the bottom of the social scale. It’s a little unsettling but also a stark reminder that you can’t just ignore messages like this in life. Those seven babies are now 30 something older sisters Noomi Rapace all with their own characteristics. In the future no family is allowed to have seven children so now it makes sense to why they have their names; furthermore, the seven children have to use one identity are and allowed to go out into the world on their allocated day. To make this plan work they all have to suffer the same fate which includes any accidents they may have, at this moment I realise shit just got real.
So that is where the information about the film will finish, without spoiling it too much for you I will tell how this film made me feel. 10 more minutes into the film and I am down the rabbit-hole and it is enthralling and imaginative, also it keeps me asking for more. The writing is very meticulous and clues are dropped at just the right moment to keep you interested and make the story plausible. I guess some people know a good story more than me and I don’t know if this is great writing and acting but I do feel emotionally invested in the sisters and the plot. This version of a dystopian future makes me believe it could be one of the best ones I have watched since Blade Runner. I really enjoy how this can mirror some of the stories we have heard from our own World Wars. I also found elements of the Minority Report throughout the film but with more comedy involved, nobody wants to land in an empty skip whilst jumping from a window, right? Well, earlier I asked what is Cryo Sleep? And WOW did I find out, I believe even the hardest of souls would find it very hard to not feel the emotion of this revelation. I will admit I did not know which way this movie would finish right up until the very end. Apart from the main plot of the story, there is also the question we should be asking yourself about how you look at life. These visions of the future are starting to get closer and makes me wonder how bad things will get before you see some real changes. Basically, I really loved this film and kind of just brushed any slight flaws I had under the carpet. It kept me wanting more and thought the story was unique and handled very carefully and with love. Like I said earlier, it kept me on the edge of my seat which really is the most important part of any film. The only real disappointment for the film is for the makers themselves because a lot has been said recently about films going straight to Netflix and I feel this could have done a lot better with a Cinema release.
Well thank you for reading and what did you think of What Happened to Monday or my blog? let me know in the comments below.
Who’s more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him? 