Review of 'Mute'

Just saw Mute on Netflix, latest movie from director Duncan Jones, of Source Code fame, and starring mainly Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood, and Big Little Lies) with supporting acting by Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux. Wikipedia reports that Mute "drew unfavorable comparisons" to Bladerunner, but that's just dumb (the comparisons not the report) since there are no androids that I know of in Mute. There are all kinds of cybernetic body enhancements and replacements going on—like in The Six Million Dollar Man—and the flavor is definitely LA cyberpunk, even though the action takes places in a future Germany.

Germany is no accident in Mute. The hero, Leo, is Amish, and he's mute because his Amish mother didn't allow surgery on her son when his neck was injured in some kind of boating accident, or in some accident in the water. (By the way, although I suppose a given Amish bishop could tell his followers not to accept modern medical care, that's not something that most Amish do. It's a common misconception that the Amish say no to all technology, when in fact they carefully pick and choose—see my The Amish Get Wired - The Amish? published in Wired way back in 1993 for more).

But back to Mute, Leo's Amish heritage is a good touch, because it helps him fit into this brave new world in Germany (Amish are of German descent). The movie is superb on detail in this future, including Leo not being able to order food—which could be delivered to his dwelling, when he gets home, via droid—because he's mute, and the ordering app can't respond to anything other than voice. And the violence, though sometimes a little hard to take, makes some logical sense in this future, in which most body parts are as replaceable as the parts of your car.

The plot is a little obvious and slow at first but tightens up with a strong wave of well-motivated developments at the end, and a dedication to Jones's father, David Bowie, and his childhood nanny, Marion Skene. Recommended for fans of Bladerunner, The Six-Million Dollar Man, and Banshee—and, hey, you can see it for free on Netflix if you're a subscriber.

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