Mark Reviews Movies: THE COLONY (2021)

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Review by Mark Dujsik | August 26, 2021

Generations from now have passed, and two generations have gone by since "the elite" of Earth, which has been devastated by climate change and plague and war, settled on a distant planet. That's all the setup we receive at the start of The Colony, which similarly tosses us immediately into a three-person research mission on Earth. Things, obviously, haven't gone as well as the space colonizers had hoped.

Director Tim Fehlbaum and Mariko Minoguchi's screenplay begins with mystery upon tantalizing mystery, and the answers to those many questions are offered through subtle clues and cues. The research mission itself, crewed by a trio of astronauts, is a sign that life on Kepler 209, the planet where all the elite people went, isn't doing too well. A previous mission came, we also learn from some opening text (briefly interrupting the perilous landing, shown in flashes), but after a single transmission, there was never any further communication from the first crew. Something went wrong, but whatever the risk may be, another mission is essential, because the risk on the colonized planet must be even worse.

The problem, as demonstrated by researcher Blake (Nora Arnezeder), clearly has to do with reproduction. She goes off on her own (The other crew members are expendable to the story: One dies on landing, and the second is injured twice over by the time the plot proper begins), looking for various life forms and checking their fertility levels. While scouting the long length of beach, she also checks her own fertility readings. They come back negative. Something about the radiation levels of the atmosphere and/or the terrain of Kepler 209 has rendered the colonizers infertile. Blake's generation, it seems, could be the last humanity has—at least from the perspective from that distant planet.

The neat trick here is how much the filmmakers establish within such a brief period of time, with such simplicity, and without overwhelming us in exposition-heavy dialogue. We understand the stakes of the mission. We comprehend the level of desperation for this crew. We see what centuries of industrialization have done to Earth, which now only looks like a lot of damp beach, enveloped in fog and constantly threatened by the incoming tides of the risen ocean levels.

There's a lot of promise in this premise and this post-post-apocalyptic imagery, and when Blake notices a moving caravan of other humans, "survivors" who have lived through all of the destruction on and devastation of Earth, the arrival marks even more potential. Most of that optimism dissipates quickly, as soon as those roaming, still-Earthbound humans attack the surviving crew of two.

That begins the actual plot, which possesses some intriguing ideas about survival on a species level, what constitutes civilization in a world such as this one, and a battle of priorities for life. Basically, the human tribe captures Blake and her crewmate (played by Sope Dirisu), who doesn't last long, and she's shocked to discover that there are children and even babies among the group. Unlike on Kepler 209, human life has continued on Earth, which means, in the bigger picture, they're far more successful in basics of life than any of those who considered themselves the "betters" of those left behind.

As for conflict, there's another group, living in something like a fortress-esque city, run by Gibson (Iain Glen), a member of the first research mission who says he's the only member to have lived (Blake's father was also on that crew). Gibson has high hopes for his city, especially now that Blake has arrived with the scanner, which could be used to send fertility data back to Kepler 209.

The colonizers there will know that it's safe and necessary to return to Earth, where they can basically re-colonize the planet they had abandoned. The Keplers will bring back a "civilized" way of living, just as Gibson has tried imposing one upon those in his colony.

The framework of a smart and incisive examination of human behavior, wants and needs, and comforts and the essentials of living is here, as well as a rather biting commentary in the person of Gibson. He presents himself as a savior of sorts, only looking out for the security and well-being of his followers, but reveals hard, strict, and almost authoritarian hold over how things should be, especially in the way he treats and raises his adopted son Neil (Eden Gough).

Instead of taking some time with these characters and these ideas, though, Fehlbaum and Minoguchi present all of this with more plot-focused puzzles and contrivances. A mysterious man (played by Sebastian Roché) lives isolated from the rest of the city, only communicating with Neil through the walls and pipes. A woman from the tribe of outsiders, named Narvik (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina), is determined to rescue her daughter—one of many who have been abducted by the colony to serve as a soldiers and workers.

There's a solid foundation of world-building and theme here, but ultimately, The Colony rings hollow. The clever and thoughtful ideas stop driving this story, as a predictably routine plot overshadows them.

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