Guy Moshe has a startling vision for the future that if things keep progressing as they are, LX 2048 will be seen as not as much science fiction, as much as it is pure science. The earth has overheated to the point to where people cannot go outside during the day, our society has shifted to a nighttime existence.
The story focuses on Adam Bird (James D’Arcy), a daytime worker who is in failing health. He seeks to ensure some sort of a secure future for his ex-wife, Reena (Anna Brewster), and three children. He and his ex are not on the best of terms. That is just one of a myriad of issues that Bird has to endure as his story unfolds.
Science has evolved in the most unique of ways, clones are everywhere and even part of a program that is uniquely mind-blowing science fiction at its best. The Birds take out a life insurance policy that is not like any that your imagination could muster. But in a stroke of genius, Moshe has written a world where should you die, a clone of your other half would be at the ready to step in and work your job, take care of your household and anything else that a spouse may want out of a replacement “you.” Heck, one can even check a number of boxes that will result in your partner’s clone being improved from the original.
Meanwhile, adapting to this new normal, citizens spend countless hours on The Realm, an internet type entity. The Birds are no different. Their three kids are consistently online. That’s where there schooling emanates from, their friends’ interact and games are played. Generally, an entire generation is being brought up with Virtual Reality headsets glued to their face.
The adults are right there with them. Reena spends countless hours on a virtual beach paradise while Adam gets sucked into a virtual affair with an avatar. That may have something to do with the fact that he and Reena are not getting along, to put it mildly. When Adam gets his disheartening health news that the sins of the past haunt him and it becomes clear that there is no hope for reconciliation.
There is also an issue with his vocation. He is one of the only dayworkers at his company, working the sales angle for his tech company while others sleep away the scorching day. Technology is changing. His business is in danger of becoming a relic. If the company doesn’t fix things, that secure future Adam was seeking for his kids (and his ex-wife), will be toast.
Making matters thrilling, and adding some much-needed gravitas to the film, is the arrival of Donald Stein (Delroy Lindo, most recently seen in what is sure to be a Best Actor Oscar nominee performance in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods). He is a mysterious scientist who has been off the grid. Somehow, Adam found him and when he shows up one day at Adam’s house LX 2048 starts to get interesting.
It’s not that the film is slow-moving, it is just that Moshe’s story feels like it drags a tad in spots. That would be this writer’s one complaint. The filmmaker possesses a gift of world-creation that should put Hollywood on notice. The daytime outside shots paints a picture of a planet in peril. Those nighttime scenes pulsate with odd normalcy. Perhaps that is because there is a lot of scientific evidence reporting that our Earth is on a mirrored path as is what is portrayed in LX 2048. What’s interesting in this film is that the public—in Moshe’s world—appears to share an apathetic kinship with the characters in the film. They are not actively digging into ways to improve their lot in life. Although billions of people in the real world report knowing that global warming is real, the take-to-the-streets in protest and awareness building, urgency is sadly missing.
That may be LX 2048’s biggest contribution to the cinematic realm. As seen as a precursor to reality, the film should be viewed as a horror movie.
D’Arcy is fantastic. His urgency is palpable. This is a man desperate to do whatever it takes to not leave his three boys needing anything that money cannot help. As Adam busts his behind to ensure his company has a future, it truly is just an extension of his wishes for his own clan. The London native excels in serving as our eyes and ears of Moshe’s world. He brings a certain intangible attribute to Adam that simultaneously humanizes the character and makes him one major anti-hero. It truly is his movie, as he is in every single scene. It takes an actor with a supreme command of his actor’s toolkit to pull off what D’Arcy does in LX 2048.
Moshe has a bright future ahead of him. As he progresses as a filmmaker, those “dragging” gaps will fade to a tightness that will aide in visionary films such as LX 2048 ability to grab your lapels and never let you go.
Grade: B