Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Diane Kruger, William Hurt
An alien race has reached Earth and has started to inhabit
the physical bodies of almost all human lifeforms on the planet. There’s no
war, hunger or corruption but there is also no sense of identity. Melanie
(Ronan) is captured by a group people known as “Seekers” (who look for people
who have not yet become hosts to the alien forms) but is able to make a bid for
freedom with both her old and new identity intact.
Based on a book by Stephenie Mayer of Twilight fame, The
Host is one of a line of science-fiction films which deal with the loss of self
through an invading force. The obvious parallel to draw is to Don Siegel’s
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956), alas the film really does nothing to be
comparable in terms of depth or intrigue to the 50’s classic, partly because it
is such well-trodden territory but also for several other reasons. Being
adapted from a book, The Host doesn’t take advantage of one of cinema’s
strongest assets; the notion of “show, don’t tell”. Saoirse Ronan plays two
lead parts fairly well, but everything is told through dialogue with both an
internal voice (her old self) and an external (her new self) leading to some
confusing exchanges that are also often unnecessary and could’ve been conveyed
through body-language, tone of voice and gesture. The film also takes some definite
leaps with science that seem to render even basic knowledge of certain subject irrelevant
(apparently, an alien species that has travelled the universe considers Earth a
big planet and apparently all you need to nourish wheat is a thin layer of dirt.
I know that sounds strange in this context, but such a logical hole does become
pretty clear). Aside of all the nobbish sniffing at Stefenie Meyer’s
controversial literary career, this really is a poor effort.
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