CODE 46

		Review by Kelly Parks
SHOULD YOU? TIP JAR CODE 46 - 2003 USA Release: AUG! 6, 2004 Revolution Films, British Broadcasting Corporation, Kailash Picture Company, MGM/UA Ratings: USA: R

The long awaited sequel to Code 45! Oh, wait. Strike that.

CODE 46 was directed by Michael Winterbottom (THE KILLER INSIDE ME) and written by Frank Cottrel Boyce.

The story begins with a lot of text explaining just what Code 46 is: a law against breeding with anyone who shares 25% or more of your genetic code. Such an anti-incest law is necessary in this late 21st century future because so many people are either clones or products of in vitro fertilization from the same genetic source. This makes it easy to accidentally have sex with your sister, so to speak. Such accidents are immediately aborted when discovered. If the parties involved knew about their genetic similarity and had sex anyway, then criminal charges are filed.

Cut to the arrival of William (Tim Robbins: JACOB'S LADDER) in Shang Hai. It takes a while for it to be clear exactly what William does and why he's there. While you're working that out you get a lot of odd little details about this future world. Outside the city seems pretty barren and inhabited only by the very poor. They can't enter the city because they don't have "cover", something that the movie centers around. Having cover (I eventually figured out) refers to having insurance coverage, something utterly essential in this society and something not easy to get. William only has cover for one day in Shang Hai. If he stays longer he'll be deported.

There is narration during this part of the movie. A girl name Maria (Samantha Morton: MINORITY REPORT), who William eventually meets and falls for despite his wife and son back home in Seattle, talks about a dream she's been having for some time.

William's job involves a special talent he has that borders on the psychic. He asks everyone he meets to tell him something random about themselves. If they do he suddenly knows what they're thinking, as if the small personal item they related allowed him to tune in to their consciousness. He uses this ability to find out who, at a Shang Hai company, has been issuing fake cover by forging documents.

At least that's what he's supposed to do. But when he discovers Maria is guilty he doesn't turn her in. Instead he ends up in a strange romance that doesn't really make sense. There never seemed to be any chemistry between them and his interest in her is more obsessive than romantic. In any case, given what I said about the definition of Code 46 and the relationship that happens here I think you can put two and two together. The violation and the aftermath make William put his job in jeopardy by staying in Shang Hai after his cover has expired.

Before I tell you what happens next I have to take time out for a

!!!SCIENCE MOMENT!!!:
William doesn't have psychic abilities.

He acquired his powers by taking an "empathy virus". Maria also mentions having taken a virus to learn Mandarin so taking some kind of nanotech knowledge delivery system isn't unusual.

How could such a thing allow you to read minds? If I knew I'd build one and become the Texas Hold 'em champion of the world. But I have no problem with future tech being able to do things by means I can't imagine. Picture someone in 1905 trying to understand how my Treo can access the sum total of human knowledge (which turns out to be mostly porn).

This is a pretty cool sci-fi flick in the sense of there being a lot of nice touches and future-believable aspects to it, like the way everyone's English has a lot of Spanish and French and Chinese mixed in. The empathy virus – and a unique defense against it that William encounters – is excellent future tech and adds to the feel that we're witnessing a drama that just happens to take place about 100 years from now. The aspects that are difficult to understand at first help to draw you into the story in order to learn more.

As cool as all that is, however, it ultimately works against the movie because you really have to pay attention to keep up with the story. It's very easy to miss what's going on in what is a fairly difficult to understand plot to begin with. And even though William's odd behavior and odd choices are kind of explained at the end, that doesn't make it any less frustrating to watch before you get to the explanation.

So putting all that together and doing the math results in three shriek girls for CODE 46.

This review copyright 2010 E.C.McMullen Jr.

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