(This is the pre-edited, 'writer's cut' version of this review - as you can see, it's way too rambling with the storyline. Granted, it was a complex premise to sum up quickly. The real published version was quite slimmed down.)
At a time when ominous threats have taken up permanent residence over our heads (think economic crisis, global warming) City of Ember speaks to large-scale helplessness in the guise of an imaginative sci-fi/fantasty flick.
When the world suffers an unnamed catastrophe (my money is on nuclear war) the great scientific minds of the day (‘the builders’) co-operate to create ‘Ember’, a vast underground city to house humanity. Food is stockpiled and a behemoth generator is built to power the place while the occupants weather the storm.
Unsure of just how long it will be before the surface is safe, the builders aren’t taking any chances of a premature exodus. They opt to keep Ember’s residents in the dark (so to speak) by keeping the exit a secret. The exit instructions are sealed in a metal box, time-locked for 200 years and given to Ember’s first mayor. If each successive mayor plays pass the parcel, the 5th or 6th generation of Emberites will see the light of day. Foolproof, no?
Naturally, the box goes missing. Some 200 plus years later, future Ember citizens aren’t even aware there is a surface to escape to.
This is where we’re introduced to Ember, a charmingly ramshackle metropolis. Alleys are cramped, rusty pipes drip and the populace gets about in homespun sweaters––all by the glow of dangling light bulbs. But the quaint visuals soon give way to a sense that things are dire. Resources are wearing thin. To cement the sentiment, the vital generator regularly fails and plunges the city into complete darkness. Ember is past its expiry date.
But life presses on, and we meet our teen protagonists Lina Mayfleet (chipper Saoirse Ronan) and Doon Harris (Harry Treadaway) at a momentous occasion: the presenting of their lifelong vocations (drawn out of a hat, kris-kringle style). Doon’s disappointment is palpable as he draws ‘messenger’, while Lina is overwhelmed by the daunting idea of working in the ‘pipeworks.’ A trade is eagerly negotiated and a friendship is formed. Idealistic Doon is stoked to be working near the generator, which he believes he could fix and save his people.
Yet it’s Lina who gets the salvation ball rolling when she stumbles on the unlocked metal box while flitting around delivering messages. When the papers inside are weathered beyond comprehension, she calls on Doon for help.
From hereon the film enters teen Da Vinci Code mode as the two race around the city meeting colourful characters and gathering clues. As the pieces fall into place, the pair begin to entertain the impossible––could Ember really have an exit? And can they find it before the generator shuts down for good?
Meanwhile, the rest of civilization (not-privy to the concept of an ‘outside world’) stage a fascinating pantomime of human nature. While growing visibly more disturbed by the depleting resources, everyone sports wide smiles of faux assurance. The hungry masses are further soothed by the style-over-substance speeches of plump Mayor Cole (a brilliantly deadpan Bill Murray) who is far too busy saving his own skin for any genuine attempts at leadership during the crisis.
Despite some minor pacing problems, City of Ember is an enjoyable compromise between adventurous treasure hunt and thought-provoking social commentary. But it’s the sheer detail of Ember that makes you glad you sat down in a dark cinema––and grateful for the light when you leave.
At a time when ominous threats have taken up permanent residence over our heads (think economic crisis, global warming) City of Ember speaks to large-scale helplessness in the guise of an imaginative sci-fi/fantasty flick.
When the world suffers an unnamed catastrophe (my money is on nuclear war) the great scientific minds of the day (‘the builders’) co-operate to create ‘Ember’, a vast underground city to house humanity. Food is stockpiled and a behemoth generator is built to power the place while the occupants weather the storm.
Unsure of just how long it will be before the surface is safe, the builders aren’t taking any chances of a premature exodus. They opt to keep Ember’s residents in the dark (so to speak) by keeping the exit a secret. The exit instructions are sealed in a metal box, time-locked for 200 years and given to Ember’s first mayor. If each successive mayor plays pass the parcel, the 5th or 6th generation of Emberites will see the light of day. Foolproof, no?
Naturally, the box goes missing. Some 200 plus years later, future Ember citizens aren’t even aware there is a surface to escape to.
This is where we’re introduced to Ember, a charmingly ramshackle metropolis. Alleys are cramped, rusty pipes drip and the populace gets about in homespun sweaters––all by the glow of dangling light bulbs. But the quaint visuals soon give way to a sense that things are dire. Resources are wearing thin. To cement the sentiment, the vital generator regularly fails and plunges the city into complete darkness. Ember is past its expiry date.
But life presses on, and we meet our teen protagonists Lina Mayfleet (chipper Saoirse Ronan) and Doon Harris (Harry Treadaway) at a momentous occasion: the presenting of their lifelong vocations (drawn out of a hat, kris-kringle style). Doon’s disappointment is palpable as he draws ‘messenger’, while Lina is overwhelmed by the daunting idea of working in the ‘pipeworks.’ A trade is eagerly negotiated and a friendship is formed. Idealistic Doon is stoked to be working near the generator, which he believes he could fix and save his people.
Yet it’s Lina who gets the salvation ball rolling when she stumbles on the unlocked metal box while flitting around delivering messages. When the papers inside are weathered beyond comprehension, she calls on Doon for help.
From hereon the film enters teen Da Vinci Code mode as the two race around the city meeting colourful characters and gathering clues. As the pieces fall into place, the pair begin to entertain the impossible––could Ember really have an exit? And can they find it before the generator shuts down for good?
Meanwhile, the rest of civilization (not-privy to the concept of an ‘outside world’) stage a fascinating pantomime of human nature. While growing visibly more disturbed by the depleting resources, everyone sports wide smiles of faux assurance. The hungry masses are further soothed by the style-over-substance speeches of plump Mayor Cole (a brilliantly deadpan Bill Murray) who is far too busy saving his own skin for any genuine attempts at leadership during the crisis.
Despite some minor pacing problems, City of Ember is an enjoyable compromise between adventurous treasure hunt and thought-provoking social commentary. But it’s the sheer detail of Ember that makes you glad you sat down in a dark cinema––and grateful for the light when you leave.
