Adam and Eden, the hero and heroine of French film “Upside Down” are star-crossed lovers, the poor boy and the rich girl. Just like
Romeo and Juliet, Laura and Alec or Megashark and Giant Octopus, they live in
different worlds – no, they literally live in different worlds, one suspended
above the other and each with its’ own gravity.
When Adam (Jim Sturgess) last
saw Eden (Kirsten Dunst) she was falling upwards towards her own world and to
her death. Years later, when Adam discovers
that Eden is still alive and working for Transcorp, a mysterious company whose
offices link the two worlds, he comes up with a crazy plan to win her back.
Adam and Eden strive to escape the limitations of their
societies and geometries, so Upside Down is Science Fiction.
“Upside Down” tells a simple and rather traditional story of
love across the class divide, with a crude and obvious use of metaphor. Good
performances from Sturgess and Dunst can’t cover over the lack of depth in the
writing. I don’t care. Like Tron: Legacy, Mad Max: Fury Road and Daybreakers, this film is an example of near-perfect worldbuilding. It would work with or without the humans, although
arguably any film where Kirsten Dunst kisses someone upside down is by
definition a good film. The genius of “Upside Down” is the extraordinary environment
of the twin worlds. It's thought out, designed and filmed in a way that every scene is visually striking, and every detail of
every scene tells a chapter of the story, the history of the characters and
their societies - a story far more rich and nuanced than the melodramatic
script.
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