Inconceivable (2008)

A satirical drama about the test-tube baby industry.

Director:

Mary McGuckian

Writers:

Mary McGuckian (based on a script by), Lothaire Bluteau (devised in collaboration with),

Stars:

Lothaire Bluteau, David Alpay, David Sutcliffe

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lothaire Bluteau	...	Malcolm Blay
David Alpay	...	Mark Henderson
David Sutcliffe	...	Jon Du Bose
Michael Eklund	...	Marlon Bell
Nicholas Campbell	...	Jonathan Banks
Jordi Mollà	...	Victor - The Clinical Coordinator (as Jordi Molla)
Colm Feore	...	Dr. Jackson Charles 'Jack' Freeman
Kerry Fox	...	Kay Stephenson
Jennifer Tilly	...	Salome 'Sally' Marsh
Lik-Chung Li	...	Lab Technician #1
Sunny Sharma	...	Lab Technician #2
Majread Daily	...	Nurse #1
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Frances Church-Chappel
Andie MacDowell	...	Charlotte 'Lottie' Louise Du Bose (as Andie Macdowell)
Amy Elliot	...	Maxine

Storyline

The inconceivable can happen with A.R.T. (assisted reproductive technology). An explosive investigation of the fastest growing sectors of medical and pharmaceutical industries; ART in Las Vegas asks 'what if' when something entirely 'inconceivable' comes to pass...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Canada UK USA France

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 June 2008 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Art in Las Vegas

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Scion Films, Freestyle Releasing, Alliance Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References The Terminator (1984)

User Reviews

Abusrd

This film is a classic example of why I hate what has happened to Canadian film.

On the upside, you have some talented and/or notable actors: Colm Feore, Jennifer Tilly, and some others I recognize only by face (and still know only by face, because the character names are irrelevant and the characters are throwaway, so I can't even match them up on IMDb).

This apparent make-work project was funded in part by the Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit, an Ontario film tax credit, and Telefilm Canada. And yet, it was not filmed on location in Canada -- only the UK and Nevada. It wasn't even SET in Canada. Go figure. I don't know whether to praise them for actually filming on location for once (in Nevada at least, don't ask me what the UK stuff was for because it wasn't in the plot) or curse them for funding what is essentially a foreign film with Canadian tax credits.

The editor in this film needs to be called out for exceptionally bad editing. On the one hand, the film would have been better as a short. It is about an hour too long for the story it tells, given that there is absolutely no characterization. We see lots of shots of blurry traffic lights. Lots of mysterious medical stuff. Even the opening credits drag on and on and on such that you might actually miss the movie title. Then there's the endless repetitions (on the order of 10 times each) of the women individually getting embryos implanted, the women individually looking at pictures of children, the women individually reacting to news, the women doing this, the women doing that. WE GET IT ALREADY, **** IT!!! At the same time, most of the shots in the film last for about 2 seconds. The longest one that I noticed was about 5 seconds. It's like watching a really bad music video with no music. Last, the scenes were presented in what appeared to be a random order. Even what ultimately turned out to be flashbacks were not in order. It was very confusing for the group I watched it with.

And can I just say that the sound was awful? What's with the random whooshing and gurgling effects? How does that add to anything at all? Were we at sea and I just didn't notice? I'm pretty sure Las Vegas is in a desert.

The plot of course is completely absurd in several ways.

1. Anyone who has ever had to give a urine sample in their life knows that when you give that sample (surely just as when you give a sperm sample) you are given a pre-labeled container so there can be no mistake, or even better you actually write your name yourself on the container. There is very little room for error, unless you yourself make the error, and that almost requires intent.

2. For a clinic serving apparently only 10 or so couples, why would there ever be 10 rooms in which to obtain samples, and why would they all be occupied at the same time? Floor space costs money. Rooms cost money. They would have at most three rooms, and the men would be scheduled some time apart to allow for cleanup in between.

3. We are told several times that the children look not just like siblings but like twins, or like they all have the same mother, not just the same father. And yet, this is not resolved. Surely someone would have wanted to know whose eggs were actually used, given the screw-ups with the sperm. It would have made for a more interesting film if the women had turned out to in fact all be, or mostly be, involuntary surrogates.

4. We're supposed to believe that all of these people (and the gay men in particular, because they obviously have no relation at all to the kids) do not file suit, and do not press charges against the doctor, the assistant, and the clinic? Are you kidding me? These people went to great lengths to have children biologically related to them. If they wanted to adopt, there are many babies in the US, and frankly from around the world (Haiti, anyone?) that could be adopted. They did not want that. There was no indication during this film that they had changed their opinion about that once the children were born. Keep in mind that whoever sues first is going to get the cash, leaving the rest without any way to recover, and certainly without any inheritance from Dr. Dad, the super-sperm factory.

So no, I didn't like it.