Equilibrium is remembered for two things: It tried to ride the coattails of The Matrix, and the gun-battling was pretty sweet. What gets left out of this analysis is that Christian Bale is fantastic, and he pulls off a feat that many science fiction actors have tried and failed to manage: To act like they’re emotionless.
In the pseudo-Orwellian future world of Equilibrium, a figure called “Father” controls everything, including how people are supposed to feel. Everyone is required to take a drug that limits their emotions and creative expression, and those who don’t comply are labeled “sense offenders.” The people who enforce these rules are dubbed Clerics.
The script from Kurt Wimmer lacks subtlety, which is why Bale as John Preston is such a revelation. This is Bale just two years after his layered and electric performance in American Psycho, and his intensity and nuanced performance far outshine Keanu Reeves in the original Matrix. The script may not be nearly as compelling, but as a by-the-numbers sci-fi flick, Bale carries Equilibrium much further than should be possible.
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A great dystopian movie
In the pseudo-Orwellian future world of Equilibrium, a figure called “Father” controls everything, including how people are supposed to feel. Everyone is required to take a drug that limits their emotions and creative expression, and those who don’t comply are labeled “sense offenders.” The people who enforce these rules are dubbed Clerics.
The script from Kurt Wimmer lacks subtlety, which is why Bale as John Preston is such a revelation. This is Bale just two years after his layered and electric performance in American Psycho, and his intensity and nuanced performance far outshine Keanu Reeves in the original Matrix. The script may not be nearly as compelling, but as a by-the-numbers sci-fi flick, Bale carries Equilibrium much further than should be possible.
21 years ago, Christian Bale made a sci-fi box office disaster — and a secretly great action movie
If you need an emotionless sci-fi world, don’t call Spock. Call Bale.
A great dystopian movie