Review of Soylent Green (1973) by Ben L — 24 Sep 2017

It?s always interesting to see how a movie with a significant twist plays when it?s been spoiled for you. In the case of Soylent Green I don?t think it?s any specific person who spoiled it, just pop culture in general. I?d be more surprised if someone who grew up in the 70s and 80s DIDN?T know the contents of Soylent Green. The end result for me was that the climax of the film was possibly the least interesting part of the whole thing. Because I knew where it was all leading, I didn?t really need to see behind-the-scenes at the factory. I will say that they did a solid job of building the tension towards that ending so that people watching it for the first time without it spoiled probably had a big shock.

The world-building in Soylent Green is what makes it special. I don?t know if I?ve ever seen a more well-defined and logical dystopian future captured on film. Just watching the movie makes me feel hot, hungry, and downright uncomfortable. The way that every actor is dripping with sweat constantly, and the sets look grimy and overloaded with people sets the stage brilliantly. Without saying one word about what happened to the Earth, you can see it and sense it in every scene you watch, to the point where you almost feel that they explained it to you with one of those voiceover news reports at the beginning. It?s not a fun world to watch, but it is portrayed well.

The story takes some odd twists and turns in Soylent Green. I was occasionally puzzled by what someone would do in the film. Particularly confusing was the sex scene that just seemed to happen with no preamble or explanation. Charlton Heston was an odd choice as the protagonist in this film, too. I thought he was somewhat unlikable and I didn?t like some of his mannerisms. It didn?t click for me why such nice people were drawn to him, because he was so unpleasant. On the flip side I loved Edward G. Robinson so much, and I wish there was more of him in the film. He was the heart that the story needed. Overall, I thought Soylent Green was a good movie that made its point, but it?s not exactly the type of film I enjoy watching.