Mickey 17
Once Robert Pattinson was done with “Twilight,” his career seemed to really get started. Yes, he worked with filmmakers like Mira Nair (“Vanity Fair”), Mike Newell (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) and David Cronenberg (“Cosmopolis”) by the ending of the franchise, but his identity as an actor started to come into focus after that. One of the joys of “Mickey 17” is that it gives him a narrative as dark as “The Batman” but as weird and funny as “The Lighthouse.” There are still a few of his higher-profile films I haven’t seen yet, but watching “Mickey 17,” it feels as though he’s still finding new gears to his craft, and I’m enjoying seeing him test his limits.
This is not surprising when you consider “Mickey 17” is the latest film from Bong Joon Ho, and his first since his Oscar-winning “Parasite.” Bong has a knack for pushing actors even in material that feels straightforward. Think about the social satire mixed with action in “Snowpiercer,” the kaiju-tinged horror of “The Host” (which I owe a rewatch to), or even his 2003 police procedural masterpiece, “Memories of Murder,” he finds unique perspectives in genres which allow actors to push their boundaries, and they always do some of the best work in their career. Right now, I would put “Mickey 17” in that category for Pattinson, and I can’t wait to see what he’s got next.
Ho’s film begins on a cold planet. Mickey (Pattinson) has fallen in a crevasse. His friend, Timo (Steven Yeun), is coming down for his gun. He’s content to let Mickey die. You see, Mickey is an “Expendable.” Years ago, he made a choice to get off the planet, and he decided to become a sacrifice for science- his body would be cloned, and when he dies, he is respawned. The ship he is a part of is trying to seek a cure for diseases. Mickey is a part of that process, and he has already died 16 times. Timo leaves him, and it seems he will die again when a “creeper” comes his way. And yet, he doesn’t. But Mickey 18 is born, and the film becomes part sci-fi drama, part dark comedy, part buddy movie.
There is a lot to process in this adaptation of the novel by Edward Ashton. There is a vein political leader and his wife (played by Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette) that is not terribly subtle in its depiction of certain authoritarian morons we’re plagued with nowadays. Mickey has a girlfriend in Nasha (Naomi Ackie) who likes the idea of two Mickeys for her pleasure. And then, there is Kai (Anamaria Vartolomei), whom Mickey 17 meets at a dinner with Ruffalo’s Kenneth Marshall. The film has a hint of “Starship Troopers” in its political commentary, and “The Truman Show” in its story of an individual in a world where everyone feels like they have eyes on them. It’s a big meal, and sometimes, it doesn’t always work, but when it focuses on Mickey’s story, the film really keeps our attention. All of it comes down to Pattinson, whose work is crazy, engaging and charming. He and Bong Joon Ho make a great team. I really enjoyed their collaboration here.
