directed by:
J G Clarke written by: J G Clarke genre: Thriller |
Holy crap! I was today years old when I realized that Jeremy Piven was still among the living. I miss those days when he was riding side-by-side with Cusack in every film - I always liked this dude, but that was a while ago. What can I say? I’m old! For what it’s worth, though, Piven looks younger than I do - and is fifteen years older than I am. Anyhow, congratulations to Jeremy Piven for still being alive; I hear it’s better than the alternative. Warning: Some spoilers ahead.
“Numbered Lives” seems fun from the get-go in its mysterious and layered way. Noah Lewis (Matthew O’Sullivan) finds himself in trouble for a gas station robbery gone wrong, and things get progressively worse for the kid from there. I’m not saying the guy’s a hero for helping out a woman who got shot in the process, but did he really deserve the fifteen-year sentence he gets for being a part of this crime? I’m Canadian…so you’ll have to forgive me a little for a lack of fully understanding systemic corruption and how it works in the United States - and thrives so efficiently – but isn’t the judge in this trial the one really committing a crime in handing out such a harsh sentence and going entirely rogue with his decision? I think “Numbered Lives” demonstrates a solid understanding that the majority of its audience aren’t case lawyers and don’t have the time to look up precedent while we’re busy watching the movie, so it feels like we kinda have to take the premise of this plotline with the proverbial grain of salt. Corruption exists, even in the judicial system – this much I know – and so I’m willing to go along. Obviously, when it comes to medical science and the interests of corporations, there are puppets, and there are puppet masters. “We don’t want a cure. Treatments make money – cures don’t,” as Piven will explain to the kids in the back of the class. While he and his cohorts seem to be close to what could be a major medical breakthrough, he’s keeping his money on his mind and at the top of his priorities. With no moral compass, a lack of basic empathy & humanity, and a tirade of expletive-fueled dialogue, Edgar (played by Piven) has the financially lucrative task of holding back our evolution when it comes right down to it. I mean, just think of what would happen if the population didn’t get perilously sick as often as it does! How would businessmen get paid their seven figures and buy four more houses in the Hamptons? What about all those medical corporations that would have to get honest jobs instead – did you ever consider that? No – you didn’t. Because you look at the world through the myopic lens of me, me, me, don’t you? Well, lemme tell you, there is a wealth of shady characters that exist only within the shadows of society whose very lives depend on finding new revenue streams for corruption to continue! Now, given that we know this is the case, it’s quite clear that Noah is in grave danger once he is transferred into the jail system. In fact, I’ll be real with ya – it’s really not all that far into the movie before he’s being dragged out in a body bag, toe-tagged & all. It seems quite harsh for a kid that had only committed your basic gas station robbery, at least in my opinion…and all of a sudden, his previous fifteen-year sentence doesn’t really sound all that bad anymore. No takebacks, though – dead is dead, or so we assume, but like Stephen King enjoys reminding us from time to time, “sometimes dead is better.” You end up being roughly about a third of the way into “Numbered Lives” when you realize there is a much more malevolent thread to this storyline about to be pulled. We’re introduced to the concept of test subjects having their files closed under the term “protocol ended,” – and it becomes pretty clear that people are going missing under the guise of being cadavers when they’re more than likely still alive. If there’s a twist that Piven himself can relate to, I think we just found it! I really do like the guy, don’t get me wrong…if anything, like most of his films, I could have taken a few more scenes with him involved. Anyhow. You know how it goes from here - an underfunded everyman in medical science starts to get an inkling about what’s going on in the world of medical corporation corruption - and realizes he’s about to go up against the kind of big moneyed interests that’ll kibosh anything he might eventually figure out. Dr. Andrew Scott (Lindsay Dunn) and Olivia Brown (Sarika Young) add real strength to the story through their characters and do a solid job with the acting involved, as does Piven’s Edgar – but if anything, a film like “Numbered Lives” doesn’t truly need a cast that stands out too far beyond the story itself, because that’s precisely what fuels our interest the most. While it’s still fair to say that there are a lot of aspects of “Numbered Lives” that do require us to suspend our disbelief even further than what probably feels natural to us, I’d be lying to ya by omission if I didn’t say that ends up kind of being part of this devious fun. I don’t always feel like I need absolutely everything to line up perfectly when it comes to the facts in fiction, or for every tiny detail to be revealed in ways that make sense – we have the luxury of being able to just enjoy stuff without asking too many questions if we choose to do so, and sometimes it’s for the best. Is it really all that far-fetched that there could be scientific experiments being done behind the scenes that we wouldn’t want to know about, or couldn’t stop from happening even if we did? Horrific things that would make us realize we’re the monsters we’re so scared of. “What’s a few murdered people,” right? All in the name of progress…err…I mean, profits…you know, what’s important.
I didn’t feel like Writer/Director J G Clarke left too much outta this script, and I felt like he essentially got the maximum out of what it offered. He keeps it much more on the line of being a Mystery/Thriller instead of getting too gory with it, which he certainly could have if he had felt so inclined. As a result, though, I think “Numbered Lives” meets a lot of viewers right in the middle in a very non-offensive way. If you wanna be scared, you still might very well be – conceptually, this movie is undeniably freaky and deals with some pretty grim ideas that should make a stomach or two churn out there. That being said, Clarke never goes too far in a gruesome direction – a lot of the most terrifying ideas are more implied and left to our imaginations to fill in the blanks, which ends up being quite effective. While I’m usually on the side of movies showing us something more than they tell us, I felt like one of Clarke’s best skills is in finding a balance that works, where he was able to do both on a fairly equal terrain. I don’t know that I’d go as far as to say you’re dealing with something potently cerebral in “Numbered Lives,” but it should be enough to stimulate the mind & senses - enough to keep you fully entertained & engaged at all times. Could this film potentially have been a little bit more compelling by showing us a little more than it does? I’d listen to that argument…I don’t know that I can fully claim that “Numbered Lives” wouldn’t benefit at least a little in doing that, or that it doesn’t have a few scenes here & there that drag a bit more than they should, but for the most part, this film moves at the right pace and keeps us invested in the story. Its most effective and memorable scenes are definitely its most vivid, whether it’s what’s being shown or what’s being said through its comfortable use of explicit language, but it also supplies a good descent into madness through the menace of the black market of medical science no matter what scene you’re watching. “Numbered Lives” gets four stars outta five from me – it’s rooted in enough fact to not feel entirely like fiction, which makes this movie all the more creepy as it pervades our concepts of morality. |
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