Equilibrium (2003)
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In a future where emotions are outlawed, a high-ranking enforcement officer begins to uncover the truth of the regime after accidentally missing his daily dose of a numbing drug.
The story
Set in the totalitarian city-state of Libria after World War III, the government suppresses human emotion by forcing citizens to take a drug called Prozium II. John Preston is a high-ranking enforcement officer who enforces these laws. After accidentally missing a dose of Prozium, Preston begins to experience emotions and becomes aware of the regime's inner workings. He begins to uncover the truth about the state's control and the existence of an underground resistance movement seeking to topple the ruling council.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the city-state of Libria, the government bans all activities that stimulate emotion, labeling violators as Sense Offenders. John Preston, a member of the elite Grammaton Clerics, lives as a single parent after his wife's execution. After missing a dose of Prozium, he begins to experience emotions and discovers his partner, Errol Partridge, is secretly keeping a book of poems. Preston eventually forms a relationship with a Sense Offender, Mary O'Brien, and connects with the Underground leader, Jurgen. After O'Brien is executed, Preston is branded a Sense Offender himself. He eventually discovers that the ruler, 'Father', is a fiction used by Vice-Counsel DuPont to mask the fact that the inner circle is not taking Prozium. Preston defeats DuPont in a gun kata showdown, destroys the propaganda center, and joins the revolution to destroy the Prozium manufacturing plants.
- First release year
- 2002
- Runtime (minutes)
- 107
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Kurt Wimmer
- Writers
- Kurt Wimmer · writer
- Cast and characters
- Christian Bale · John Preston; Emily Watson · Viviana; Taye Diggs · Andrew Brandt; Angus Macfadyen · Vice-Counsel DuPont
- Genres
- science fiction; action
- Themes
- Totalitarianism; Freedom of expression; Suppression of emotion; Resistance
- Tone and mood
- Dystopian; Action
- Setting
- The city-state of Libria in the year 2072.
- Premise and plot tags
- Dystopia; Sci-fi; Action; Martial Arts
- Reception
- The film was a critical and commercial failure at the box office, though it was ultimately profitable due to international pre-release sales. It received unfavorable reviews but has garnered a cult status.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 40% · scale: percentage · review count: 89; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 4.8 · scale: 10; Metacritic · score: 33 · scale: 100 · review count: 22
- Production trivia
- The film was originally announced in 1999 under the title of Librium.; The director, Kurt Wimmer, invented his own style of gun kata for the film.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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