Imagine a society where books are outlawed and “firemen” have been tasked to burn and destroy any remaining literature, erasing history right before our eyes. This is the reality in Fahrenheit 451, a jaw-dropping new HBO Film starring Michael B. Jordan (HBO’s The Wire, Black Panther) and Oscar nominee Michael Shannon (Shape of Water), now available on Digital Download and Blu-ray and DVD September 18, 2018.
I first announced this film in “Fahrenheit 451 Past is Prologue” and you can get a good handle on the original author, his life and times and how the novel came about. Ray Bradbury harbored a deep mistrust of authority based upon all he experienced throughout this life. This HBO production is based on Ray Bradbury’s classic sci-fi novel of the same name, a thought-provoking parable that depicts a frighteningly plausible future where media is an opiate, history is purged and dissent is outlawed. Published in 1953, Fahrenheit 451 is regarded as one of Bradbury’s greatest works and one of the top ten Sci-Fi novels ever written.
The novel presents a future American society where books are outlawed and “firemen” burn any that are found. The book’s tagline explains the title: Fahrenheit 451 – the temperature at which book paper catches fire, and burns…” This latest adaptation of Bradbury’s iconic tale of government overreach, fanatical authority and the death of knowledge in America is very nebulous about the administration which rules over this near-future Ohio. But it’s clearly grounded in today’s issues.
The atmosphere of “Fahrenheit 451” is timely and recognizable writer/director Ramin Bahrani delivers a journeyman’s effort that though it’s not as pointed or an indictment of the current administration as I predicted. The film suffers in my opinion from a third act that loses some of the films earlier momentum. But as a whole, it serves the source material well and makes pretty obvious statements about the Media’s culpability in shaping lies to be truth, promoting dangerous demagogues for pageviews and the inconvenience of truth for the powerful elite.
The casting was however excellent. The choices that the cast members make are all interesting. Shannon’s Beatty is a true believer, he is filled with a near-religious zealotry in his task to enforce the anti-intellectual laws. He has unwavering faith in the new order and “defends” his society with fanatical zeal. He senses his protégée slipping early on and does what makes sense to him to “save” a soldier that he assumes is losing his desire to burn. Shannon is always excellent and as morally bankrupt as his character is, like his scenery-chewing performances in both Boardwalk Empire and Man of Steel, you can still empathize with his position. Sadly, he shares an almost fatherly mentorship of Jordan’s Montag.
Jordan’s protagonists Montag is a cipher, nursing a fear of failure stemming from his father’s disgrace as a Fireman, he’s made himself the poster child for the new order. He’s a minor celebrity on the Internet and we first meet him giving a lecture on the dangers of “graffiti” (literature) to school-age children who view these men as rockstars. However, as comfortable as he is in his position of authority, being groomed by his superior to lead, he harbors lingering doubts that bubble up to the surface in his private moments.
These moments feel organic as he goes through his daily routines. He struggles between redeeming his father’s failure and his own consciousness awakening once he witnesses a self-sacrificial act by a rebel who fights to keep knowledge alive and to spread what they learn to other like-minded intellectuals. Montag’s genie is out of the bottle once he acquires a contraband book during this raid and the more he reads, the more he questions his role and the state’s methods.
I really enjoyed Clarisse, (Sofia Boutella) her duplicity allows her to survive. She’s one of Beatty’s informants, who is also part of the underground movement – known as Eels – fighting to save books. Clarisse encourages Montag to join the rebellion.
“It was collaborative and creative and Michael B. Jordan is so invested, so thoughtful. He’s a joy to work with – they all were,” she said to The Level. I enjoy her work in this film a great deal, her moral complexity and relationship with Jordan’s Montag are well acted. She’s featured in the Tom Cruise remake of “The Mummy” and the double-amputee assassin in The Kingsman. Both roles were more physical and this allowed her to emote.,
She was in interviewed by The Level http://thelevel.my/interview-sofia-boutella-fahrenheit-451/ where she shared her take on why the firemen in the film were celebrated for oppressing the masses and Clarisse’s character arc.
The Level: The film also shows mass media covering the book burnings and the ‘firemen’ are like celebrities, which also feels like the way media covers events today in the world we live in. What did you think of that?
SB: I think it’s a distraction from what’s essential and in my belief; it’s created for that very purpose. I think it’s a fascination for people – needing to, not worship, but idolize something. Why is that? I think it’s because they haven’t developed or read enough about things to have confidence in themselves so they rely on what they see. It’s a role model that is sort of maybe not portraying the best thing for them. Back in the day, people would admire a philosopher or a poet, and now I suppose it’s stardom or reality shows – people that display their lives and the rhythm of their lives. People are hooked on that. It’s fascinating.”
The Director builds an impressive world that is a believable extension of where we find ourselves currently. From The “Yuxie” personal assistant that is really just a government informant, eyedrops to keep you complacent and the “likes” garnered on the internet as both entertainment and opiate. As the action intensifies through the second act and the characters begin to clash, it’s clear, though the anti-intellectuals win the battles hope still survives they will lose the war.
The ending, which I won’t spoil for you is a bit nebulous and open-ended in a way that isn’t as satisfying as I’d like.
The Blu Ray is standard fare with a special feature, Into the fire with interesting commentary on each of the principal characters discussing their characters personal motivations. The interface is what you would expect from a modem Blu-Ray with multiple language options and the sound & picture is industry standard.
This is a good introduction to Bradbury’s story if not the definitive one. I watched the film with my son who was fascinated by the willingness of the populace to be manipulated and relinquish so many personal freedoms for a false sense of security. The discussion we had after and his finding the original book on Audible to read It’s worth a buy for me.
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Images courtesy of HBO