I AM MORTAL

In the distant future world of the film, I AM MORTAL mortality has been conquered and everyone lives in relative calm and happiness. Yet Logos (Abraham Lewis) spends his free time reading Sarte and waxing philosophical on the romantic and transient nature of mortality. Written and directed by Tony Aloupis, I AM MORTAL aims to tackle big existential questions in a future world where the final enemy of death has been eradicated. The problem is that the film fails to adequately make much sense nor do we really have any reason to connect with our protagonist aside from his petulant desire to break free from the status quo. The result is a pretty sci-fi story slathered in pretty young people and dotted with the occasional note of intrigue. We have the hero, the romantic interest, the band of rebels, and the benevolent overlord with a dark side yet we are never given a compelling reason to care.

As the story opens, beautiful Akae (Eloise Smyth) is giving younger ones a tour around the utopia they now live in. She explains that The Pilot (Sean Gunn) is the man who discovered the key to immortality by offering a sort of “vaccine” to death to young adults. The Pilot himself lives in his private residence remotely delivering public addresses to his populace as they blissfully walk around in pastel shades of draped fabric. Everyone is young, everyone is immortal, and everyone has great skin. We first meet our hero Logos as he openly reads a book that romanticizes the episodic nature of human life. Why this isn’t a state crime in this world is beyond me, but I digress. It is clear that Logos yearns for a deeper appreciation of life, yet he lives in a world of placidity. He soon becomes involved with an underground group that is hoping to undo mankind’s lock on life. Meanwhile, Akae has agreed to go undercover to infiltrate the rag-tag band of mortalists. Ideas are exchanged, loyalties are tested, and the debate over the quality of life vs. quantity of life is played out. The sad thing is that neither side offers a very compelling argument.

Starting with the good, we have Production Designer Monique Dias and Art director Benjamin Ralston. This isn’t Gattaca level but their halcyon vision of the future is clean and disturbing while using every last penny from the budget. I also really have to say that despite the bland dialogue and action, Gunn‘s performance as the Steve Jobs-like recluse ruling the masses from afar was fun to watch.

It pains me to say that this pic simply doesn’t reach the heights that it aspires to. Aloupis’s script wants to get into the darkest extremes of existential philosophy and control, but it never gets deeper than the tertiary motives of the pretty characters. Lewis’ one-note performance does no favors for the long stretches of dialogue and we are left starving for a bit of charisma and a lot more action.