Silent Running

So I'm feeling adventurous. I remember watching Mark Kermode's film blog and him mentioning Doug Trumbull's Silent Running and how amazing it is. The name didn't exactly ring any bells, but apparently he did the special effects for 2001. At the very least, I expect some interesting visuals.

The film is slow. Really slow. There's also something about early 70s cinema that my brain interprets as 'time to fall asleep' (I've nodded off during A Clockwork Orange. Twice). It's the minimalistic visuals, the music and the melodramatic acting style. They just do something to me. This film was no different and it really was quite the uphill battle.

The story is pretty simple sci-fi stuff. Far in the future people have destroyed all of nature and humans are able to survive on synthetic products alone. The last remaining flora have been sent into space by the 'corporations' and are maintained in biospheres on huge space-stations (that look exactly like those from the Doctor Who episode, The Waters of Mars). Freeman Lowell has spent the last 8 years of his life alone, tending to these 'space-forests' that no-one seems to care very much about any more. It consumes him. He gives up everything to maintain the last trace of non-human life.

Initially it's all a pretty hippy, 'save the forests' message. Lowell waxes lyrical to his crew-mates about how great 'real' fruit is and how terrible the synthetic crap they eat is, but they're never even remotely interested. The strength of his beliefs only serves to alienate him from them. The truth is that Lowell is a bit insane. He seems a little off his rocker at the start, but when the order is finally given to jettison the biospheres and return home, he decides to take severe action. Mutiny. He kills his three crew-mates and takes over the ship.

Lowell's motives are really hard to understand (hence me just calling him insane earlier). He saves the trees and even kills for them, but there isn't much he can do with them. No-one is interested in living things any more so he can't bring them back to Earth. All he can do is remain with them for as long as they survive. There is no purpose to his murderous acts. I suppose what this leads me to conclude is that the environmental message isn't what the film is about. The film is about the isolation of space and the real reason for the murders is just plain old cabin fever.

This was a disappointing really, mainly because I feel like I've seen this done far better before. Richard Matheson's novel, I Am Legend just explored the nature of isolation so well that I can't help but be disappointed. Silent Running just doesn't measure up.

The film has some brilliant visuals that alone are worth the watch, but it's pretty poor sci-fi. It has a boring central character and an inconsistent, confused message. Ignore this and watch Moon instead.