This is a tale, a mystery if you will, of 3 Universes. It rests lightly on popular theories from physics, so that its relationship to "SciFi" can be acknowledged. But any Science which, along with technology, it's often wayward daughter, is wielded by totally amoral handlers, ends up biting, and biting down hard within the human dimension of things. Still, it is by is the amazingly human characterizations in this epic that this tale will succeed in engaging and captivating you.
Charlie Jade: "...I thought it was cool," is his reply when asked why he chose "Jade" for a surname; is the confident metropolitan male of our own age: into appearances, the beautiful girlfriend, the car the clothes, the apartment, the slight stubble. Mildly hedonistic, he is yet the likable and sympathetic hero of this film, and although the style of narration is "limited omniscient," most of what the viewer is allowed to understand of the story, that process of discovery, comes from viewing events through his eyes. Still with all of that, Charlie is for the most part, a two-dimensional character. It's kind of like having a really good friend, then suddenly realizing he has this serious character defect. You still like him, but you wonder if he'll ever get it.
Then, there's "01 Boxer," (sounds like "Owen.") Something about the way the film introduces him, gave me the impression that the two men were siblings. (They aren't, but their fates are linked.) Without 01, the film would be a narrative about a reed (Charlie) tossed by the wind. This character, 01, is about motivation, and deep self-awareness, and actions which spring from these things. He is about knowing better, and still failing. He becomes more and more three dimensional as the movie unfolds; apparently totally depraved, he is both a catalyst, and a foil for the Charlie character. 01 is able to feel true remorse for his failures, Charlie, merely guilt. Amazingly acted this is the dilemma of the moral man released into a place of absolute power, and that without restraint.
Set in Capetown, the cinematography is a treat, would've been worth while to have seen this on a big screen. There are dark scenes that have a sense of brooding ambivalence to them, perhaps reflective of a very old city with lots of history. I am always amazed how differently people who've lived in other cultures, other places on this planet frame and compose shots. Unique ways of visualizing special places, that help to communicate that intangible sense of time and place. (Some violence, and scenes not suitable for the easily offended.)
