Review: Self/less

Ryan Reynolds is not a bad actor. There is a sense of commitment to his performances, but he does no more than is necessary. It's a quality that will keep him gainfully employed - he'll never ruin a film - but will also render him firmly indistinguishable. It also means that some of his films can be frustrating to watch. Sitting through Self/less, one never shakes off the nagging thought that a more textured portrayal from Reynolds would have helped the film fulfill its potential.

The film begins with business tycoon Damian Hale (Ben Kingsley) surveying New York's Central Park from his cartoonishly ornate apartment. He is cold-blooded and ruthless; witness the scene where he calmly destroys the career of a young executive (Sam Page). He is also dying, a fact he hides from his estranged daughter Claire (Michelle Dockery), who misinterprets his efforts at making amends as another attempt to buy her affection.

Tempted by the possibility where "the fate of a healthy mind is not determined by the fate of an ailing body," Damian hands over 250 million dollars to Professor Albright (an effective Matthew Goode), the coolly composed CEO of Phoenix Biogenic, a scientific institute that has developed the technology to transfer a person's mind into a body genetically engineered from scratch. Thus Damian is reincarnated as Edward (Reynolds) who, after a period of adjusting to his new body, is transplanted to New Orleans to live his new life which includes befriending his neighbour Anton (Derek Luke), bedding a bevy of beauties, relishing the athleticism of his body, and attending weekly meetings with the mysteriously private Albright in order to refill the medication that calms the side effects of migraines, nausea, and visual distortions resulting from the procedure.

Edward is disturbed by the vividness of his hallucinations and, when Albright lets slip a detail that he could never have known about a particular episode, begins to suspect that he may be experiencing actual memories. But whose memories? A visit to a farm in Missouri, where he encounters the woman (Natalie Martinez) from his visions, results in a surprising reveal that deflates the film into a rote action thriller.

Screenwriters Alex and David Pastor, the Spanish brothers who wrote and directed 2009's commendable zombie drama Carriers, were obviously inspired by the Frankenstein myth as well as John Frankenheimer's fantastic Seconds, so much so with the latter that it borders on the plagiaristic. In Seconds, adapted by Lewis John Carlino from David Ely's novel, a middle-aged businessman undergoes facial and physical reconstructive surgery with the help of a secretive organisation. Seconds featured a corporate figurehead as shadowy as Albright as well as its main character seeking atonement for past neglects.

Where Self/less deviates from Seconds is its slack exploration of the burdens of assuming a second identity. Even the increasing ease with which people shed their skin to slip into newer ones - a method worth exploiting in framework of the genre; think of how difficult it would be to defeat someone who had the ability to hide in plain sight - is given short shrift. When the film does focus on the themes of morality and identity, it never fully hits its mark due to the solid one-dimensionality of Reynolds' emoting. At no point do you believe that Edward was ever Damian. Not when Edward reaches out to Claire and not when he seeks the help of trusted friend and business partner Martin (Victor Garber). One can argue that Reynolds is not necessarily portraying Kingsley's Damian but a variation of that character, but there is still no connectivity. Think of how James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender's portrayals of Professor Xavier and Magneto stood apart from and yet were of a piece with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen's characterisations.

Most disappointing is the contribution of director Tarsem Singh, who has sedated his trademark baroque visual flourishes into nondescript slickness.

Self/less

Directed by: Tarsem Singh

Written by: Alex Pastor, David Pastor

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Ben Kingsley, Matthew Goode, Derek Luke, Victor Garber, Natalie Martinez, Michelle Dockery, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen, Melora Hardin