Doremus shows us a futuristic, utopian society where the inhabitants have been bred to be peaceful and emotionless in a post-apocalyptic world. All is rather robotic and inventively futuristic until a man and a woman discover that they feelings for each other. Could this be love?
If this all sounds like we have seen it all before as a plot, we have. But at least Doremus gives us a very stylish vision that is a feast for the eyes and that indicates that while there may not be any emotion there is certainly style.
The film’s two lovers, Kristen Stewart who plays Nia and Nicholas Hoult who plays Silas wear nifty white suits that make the naff designs of the future worn by the protagonists in other Sci-fi films of the past few decades look decidedly dowdy. To say nothing of the good-looking attractiveness of the stars themselves. Not surprising then that these two co-workers should find themselves attracted to each other.
Fans of the Twilight series of films will not be surprised that her pretty male co-workers in white find something stirring deep inside their chic white suits. Steward seems to have that effect on the opposite sex. Quite what is the attraction of the thoroughly dull and passionless members of the opposite sex, even a guy as good looking as Hoult, is less obvious.
In the society in which they live known as the Collective, where dangerous emotions like love are suppressed at birth. But somehow emotions continue to break through in some people in what the Health and Safety Department of the Collectives call Switched-On Syndrome (SOS). Those with SOS are called “infected” and the goons in blue striped suits of Health and Safety search for them and warnings and slogans of the danger SOS poses are constantly bombarding the inhabitants of the Collective. Sex is also forbidden and all the messy stuff like conception goes on in test tubes. But love will find a way it seems.
Doremus in a statement has said “What would happen if we lived in a world in which love does not exist anymore? What if the very thing that makes us the most human, we’ve evolved away from? I then began to think about what the fundamental reason for existence is.”
Doremuss’s first two films Breathe In and Like Crazy were smaller films but less simplistic than Equals which seems to be targeted at a very young audience.
The director has used not only the costumes and sets designed for the film but also used existing ultra modern buildings of today for the exterior shots of which include Japanese locations such as the Miho Museum and Singapore’s Marina Barrage and Henderson Waves Bridge which give the film its stylish and distinctive look.
This might all be considered a triumph of style of real content.

Credits:
Equals (USA)
Directed by Drake Doremus
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Nicholas Hoult, Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver