Repo Men takes place not so much in a dystopian future as a dystopian alternate reality. People can replace their organs, bones, and other body parts with artforgs, but the cost is so high that many people default on their payments. That's where Jude Law and Forest Whitaker come in. If you go 90 days without a payment, they track you down and repossess the Union's property without deference to that property's host.Even if you haven't seen the trailer or TV spots, you can pretty much guess what happens: as the result of an accident, Law ends up with an artificial heart and a change of heart. He turns against the system. Violently. Really, really, violently.
The truth: I went into this one expecting little more than a) Law fighting against the system and b) violence and gore. This movie delivers on both counts. Around the halfway mark what started out as a smart, maybe even timely idea with a stylish execution goes off the rails, but it goes so spectacularly off the rails that it achieves its own kind of magnificence. There's a wildly erotic self-surgery scene, for Pete's sake. How can you not love it?
Law continues on his upward trend in my esteem. Once he's freed of the need to act the fop, he's also free to do the work. Though there was little moment I could have done without, he was otherwise delightful, as was Liev Schreiber in full oily salesman mode. For dedication to bananas-osity alone, C+.
Confidential to Jude Law: you know what would go well with your hairy forearms? Some chest hair. Do us a favour and stop waxing.
