Review of Upside Down (2012) by Francesco — 15 Mar 2013

The film centers on a pair of lovers divided by a world with dual gravity. The two worlds are strictly separated: the rich people live up while the poor people live down. The only connection between this two worlds is through the company Transworld.

Adam(Jim Sturgess)is from down but he has the fortunate chance to meet Eden(Kirsten Dunst). They fell in love but are forced to give up their love by the police of the upper world. After ten years they'll have the opportunity to meet again and fight against the gravity that separate them.

The concept of two rigid separated worlds is an original metaphor of many people who had lived in difficult political and economical situations in which they were brutally used and forced to live a humiliating life.

For this people there was no love, no emotions. They were merely an object, easily expendable to build a prosperous and cohesive society. It is undoubtedly a very pressing matter even in our historical situation.

So Adam becomes the focus of our sympathy. We deeply understand his desire of redemption and quest of a long lost love who could give him some relief from a grim reality, even though he doesn't know her exactly.

For this performance, Jim Sturgess deserves all the accolades. He is very moving and convincing. On the contrary, Eden is a little distant, only object of veneration and love-seeking. As for Kirsten Dunst, it is a much brighter and easier role after her dark roles in "All Good Things" and "Melancholia".

She has no showy scene (aside from when she tries to remember in spite of her amnesia) even though she plays well as always. Timothy Spall as Bob ,who assists Adam and finally helps Eden in her final decision, is very good.

Juan Diego Solanas, for his brilliant idea, can be considered a really visionary director. He created a film which has some elements similar to "Inception", "Gattaca" and "Stardust" mixed together which are well corresponded.

The script is simple but nevertheless it deals with the question of gravity which may be at times a little confusing. The special effects are really astonishing and the soundtrack really suggestive. My vote is 8/10.