In a future where freedom is outlawed, outlaws will become heroes.|Dec. 06, 2002|United States|107 Min.|R
Genre: Action;Science;Fiction;Thriller
Description: Equilibrium (2002) is a sci-fi film set in the dystopian city-state of Libria, established by survivors of World War III. The society blames human emotions for the war’s devastation and suppresses them by outlawing anything that evokes feelings, including art, literature, and music. Citizens are forced to take daily doses of the drug Prozium II to numb their emotions. Violators, labeled “Sense Offenders,” are executed. The Tetragrammaton Council, led by “Father,” governs the city, communicating propaganda through massive video screens. Law enforcement is carried out by Grammaton Clerics, masters of the martial art gun kata, who raid homes to destroy illegal materials and kill offenders. A resistance movement, the Underground, aims to overthrow the regime.
In 2072, John Preston, a high-ranking Cleric, is a single father after his wife was executed as a Sense Offender. During a raid, Preston discovers his partner, Errol Partridge, preserving a book of poems by W.B. Yeats. Preston confronts and kills Partridge after hearing him express the value of feeling emotion. After accidentally breaking a vial of Prozium, Preston begins to experience suppressed emotions, leading him to question the regime. He deliberately stops taking Prozium, hiding the doses.
Preston’s new partner, Brandt, grows suspicious of his behavior, especially when Preston spares a Sense Offender named Mary O’Brien during a raid. As Preston’s emotions resurface, he becomes increasingly conflicted about his role in the oppressive system.
Equilibrium explores themes of freedom, emotion, and resistance within a tightly controlled society.
Cast director: Brian W. Cook
Cast actor: Christian Bale, Taye Diggs, Angus Macfadyen, Matthew Harbour, Sean Bean, Emily Watson, Sean Pertwee, Emily Siewert, Maria Pia Calzone, Dominic Purcell
Original name: Equilibrium