Review: Anon

In a world where our brains are truly like computers and everything we see from our perspective is recorded, it is damn near impossible to get away with anything, whether it be a minor offence like littering or a major one such as murder. Yet, in Andrew Niccol's latest Philip K. Dick-like sci-noir Anon, there is someone who is not only leaving a trail of bodies behind but doing it without the slightest trace of a digital footprint.

As with Niccol's previous works, Anon features a concept that intrigues from the start. In the not-so-distant future, everyone's waking consciousness is recorded and uploaded to and stored in a secure mindspace called the Ether. Thus, when people report crimes to the likes of Detective Sal Frieland (Clive Owen), Sal is able to instantly access multiple points-of-view to either corroborate or invalidate people's accounts. When everyone's private information is on public display, it's no wonder that someone like Anon (Amanda Seyfried), who throws up an error instead of being the open book that everyone else is, instantly catches Sal's eye. Partly because she is off the grid, but primarily because she may be the prime suspect in a series of murders.

It seems that someone is not only killing people, but killing them in such a way that the crime is seen from the murderer's eyes. All of the victims seem to have had some secrets that needed erasing, and all signs lead to Anon being a high-end hacker for hire who also happens to sleep with most of her clients. Could her determination to remain private be her motivation for permanently disposing of her clients? The only way for Sal to find out is to use himself as bait, posing as a banker with some secrets that need deleting, but when she discovers his true identity, things quickly spin out of control.

There's not really much of a character for Seyfried to play since Anon, by nature, must remain a cipher. Any background or expository dialogue would feel wholly out of place and both Seyfried and Niccol do well in maintaining Anon's air of mystery. This is especially effective during Anon and Sal's cat-and-mouse interactions, which introduce the film's niftiest element: Anon's ability to hack into someone's mind and manipulate what they are seeing. This allows for some truly suspenseful and psychologically chilling moments concerning Sal, and Owen palpably conveys Sal's increasing paranoia and uncertainty.

Though its moral quandaries and cool visual aesthetics are very much on brand for Niccol, Anon does find the writer-director slightly out of his wheelhouse. There are many instances when the film veers into Basic Instinct-style salaciousness. Niccol is no Paul Verhoeven, and Niccol fumbles instead of making high art out of lurid pulp as Verhoeven expertly does. Still, Anon works well enough despite its frequent flatness.

Anon

Directed by: Andrew Niccol

Written by: Andrew Niccol

Starring: Clive Owen, Amanda Seyfried, Colm Feore, Sonya Walger, Mark O'Brien, Joe Pingue, Iddo Goldberg, Rachel Roberts, Sebastian Pigott