Title: Warm Bodies
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer and John Malkovich
Director/Screenplay: Jonathan Levine
Release: 1st February 2013 (US), 8th February (UK/Ireland)
Budget: $30,000,000
WHO SAYS ROMANCE IS DEAD?
Life for Julie (Teresa Palmer) and R (Nicholas Hoult) couldn’t be more different.
R is a zombie; with a great record collection; limited vocab and an overpowering love of brain food.
Julie is a human; beautiful; strong; open minded and all heart.
When R makes an unexpected decision and rescues Julie from a zombie attack, his lifeless existence begins to have a purpose. As the unlikely relationship develops, R’s choice to protect her sets in motion a sequence of events that might just change both of their worlds forever.
Directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50) and based on the debut novel by Isaac Marion, the heart-warming WARM BODIES is 2013’s zom-rom-com with a twist.
Who knew zombies could be this good-looking? And lovable? Warm Bodies offers a unique twist on the zombie franchise and it’s one that doesn’t disappoint! It’s a familiar scenario – civilisation has fallen as a mysterious virus takes hold. Radioactive monkeys? Chemical warfare? Nobody is sure how it started (neither are the zombies) but we are sure that what is left of humanity is holed up in a bunker. And so we are introduced to the Romeo and Juliet of the zombie apocalypse. Aptly-named R (Nicholas Hoult – X-Men: First Class, Skins) becomes captivated by Julie (Teresa Palmer – I am Number Four, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) and together they embark on a journey of change and revolution as they both realise that zombies can be something more and we, the audience, are reminded just what it means to be human.
This movie embodies the classic Shakespearian love story with a bit of Frankenstein and Night of the Living Dead on the side to create this unique zom-rom-com. Despite the existence of the ever creepy “Boneys”, Warm Bodies offers less gore and physical violence than your average zombie movie. And while this may be disappointing for most zombie-purists, the suggestion of violence adds to the general feel of the movie, which could be classified as a monster-turned-romance flick.
The depiction of alienation is one found in most movies of a similar nature (albeit not with zombies) and as far as the character’s go, Hoult’s shuffling, shrugging zombie R is a good match for Palmer’s Julie. The dialogue flows easily between the two – well, about as easy as a conversation can get between a human and a zombie. Supporting actors of note included the best friends played by Analeigh Tipton and Rob Corddry, each adding an extra something to the movie as a whole. However, it is this writer’s opinion that other casting decisions proved to be more corpse-like than the zombies… We’re not looking at anyone in particular but some exes proved to be more charismatic once their brains were removed. It was also disappointing that Malkovich’s character appeared too single-minded.
The overall vision of the movie was very well done and cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe used colour and widescreen brilliantly to give a wasteland feel, while production design by Shepard Fairey and Martin Whist depicts a landscape frozen in time. As the movie progresses we see a gradual thawing in colour and architecture which matches the theme nicely, and as the love story between the pair unfolds, the movie reinforces its themes of engagement and connection. The soundtrack is pleasant and aims straight for the emotional heartstrings of the audience.
The movie is a fun mingling of two familiar genres with good production values, but it does fall down on allowing its full message to develop, as it appears too abrupt at times. What we get in Warm Bodies is a film that warms us up and gets our hearts thumping, yet maybe it could do with a few less corpses and a few more brains.
Warm bodies hits Irish cinema screens on Friday February 8th.
