Mute review

Mute is directed by Duncan Jones, and is set in a future Berlin, as a mute bartender searches for his missing girlfriend.

This film has really divided people. On the one hand, the critics destroyed it, calling it terrible. Many people share this view. On the other hand, there is a large number of people on twitter who have come out in support of it. Of these two camps, I'm much closer to the second than the first.

I thought it was a solid cyberpunk neo-noir movie that wore its influences on its sleeve. I thought it set up its concept well, and executed the story well. What I found to be the problem was that the film was focused on the wrong person.

The main character is Alexander Skarsgård, a mute, amish bartender who searches for his missing girlfriend. An amish man in a technologically advanced world is interesting, but he isn't. Much more interesting is Paul Rudd, who plays an American military deserter trying to get himself and his daughter back home. His character's story and motivations I found to be much more interesting than Skarsgård's.

There is also a few plot lines and pieces of dialogue which I feel don't go where they should.

In short: I enjoyed it, but with a few reservations.