Mute (2018)

Directed by: Duncan Jones | 126 minutes | science fiction thriller | Actors: Alexander Skarsgård, Seyneb Saleh, Paul Rudd, Justin Theroux, Robert Sheehan, Daniel Fathers, Nikki Lamborn, Noel Clarke, Robert Kazinsky, Gilbert Owuor, Ulf Herman, Levi Eisenblätter, Rosie Shaw, Eugen Bauder, Livia Matthes, Jarah Maria Anders , Caroline Peters, Laura de Boer

‘Mute’, by director and writer Duncan Jones (‘Moon’, ‘Source Code’, ‘Warcraft’), is a neo-noir future film about a bartender who cannot speak and searches for his missing girlfriend. Described as a love letter to ‘Blade Runner’, the story is set in the future in Berlin. ‘Mute’ is set in a desolate world where humanity is as strange as a rose in a desert.

A childhood incident involving a boat propeller sends Leo (Alexander Skarsgård) to permanent silence when his Amish mother refuses surgery on his vocal cords. Thirty years later, he works as a bartender in a Berlin strip club where he has a relationship with a waitress, Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh). When she disappears overnight, his quest through Berlin’s underworld of prostitution, perverted sex and pedophilia begins.

It’s interesting that someone who can’t speak is trying to solve a disappearance. Because of Leo’s involuntary silence, he communicates mainly with the eyes, giving him a quiet and strong presence. It is also difficult for the environment to estimate Leo because it simply does not know what he is thinking. Alexander Skarsgård has an intimidating presence due to his height and penetrating gaze that forces the environment to its knees. The environment therefore quickly becomes defensive against a silent but unpredictable force.

Paul Rudd (“Ant-Man”, “Dinner for Schmucks”), who usually uses the nice guy plays, here is the almost unscrupulous Cactus Bill and forms a dynamic duo with Duck, played by Justin Theroux. The interaction between these two is inspired by the characters Trapper John and Hawkeye Pierce from Robert Altman’s ‘MASH’ but then the criminal version. Unfortunately, Paul Rudd is not convincing as the bad guy and the weight of its danger is therefore difficult to estimate. Justin Theroux, on the other hand, is more convincing with his insecure smile and suspicious remarks.

The futuristic setting is quite successful and quite interesting ideas are presented. Visitors to prostitution houses are immediately scanned for sexually transmitted diseases and food is delivered to their homes using drones.

Despite the promising plot and hopeful setting, the story is too rushed. Sometimes steps to move the story forward are skipped and the wrong people get too much screen time. This sometimes loses the relevance of the story. The acting of the other cast is also quite disturbing and therefore distracting too much. The story is a missed opportunity to really pay attention to what it’s like to track someone down in silence and the difficulties that come with it. ‘Mute’ unfortunately could have been more than it is.