The antecedents to Luke Scott’s “Morgan” are many – Frankenstein, A.I., Lucy, Ex Machina – so much so that we should simply regard this movie as yet
another variation on the artificial life vs. human beings theme. Truth be told,
there’s little new at play here and this latest entry suffers from being
released in such close proximity to Lucy and Ex Machina, similar plot
points and narrative beats being far too obvious to ignore. Still, Scott, whose father Ridley explored
these themes as well in “Bladerunner,” brings a degree of style and menace to
this project that can’t be denied, while the fine efforts from his game cast
make sure that we don’t shake this at times effective, but familiar tale, soon.
Having been called in by a nameless corporation to assess an
incident that occurred at one of their off-site labs, Lee Weathers (Kate Mara)
describes herself as a “risk management professional,” to the team of
scientists who’ve been working on something called the L-9 Prototype in
isolation for seven years. Their project
is an artificial life form they’ve named Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy), whose accelerated
maturation finds her fully grown by the age of five and acting out in
disturbing ways. Seems she gouged Dr. Grieff’s (Jennifer Jason-Leigh) eye with
a spoon when she suggested Morgan’s time outside her prison home be cut
back. It’s up to Weathers to determine
if this was a one time glitch or if this is the first sign of a pattern of
behavior that would lead to the termination of the project.
Scott and screenwriter Seth W. Owen quickly and effectively
introduce the sequestered scientists, all characters who make an impression
during their initial time on screen. Of
note is Toby Jones as Dr. Ziegler, who’s quite adamant that Morgan be treated
as a human being; Michelle Yeoh as Dr. Cheng, a physician haunted by a tragedy
in her past that she fears will reoccur; and Paul Gaimatti as Dr. Shapiro, an
expert on behavior whose aggressive approach Morgan takes exception to.
These veterans give the story the required emotional heft it
needs to keep our interest while Taylor-Joy steals the film in the title role,
giving us a confused, child-like creature that’s simply acting on instinct, a
construct to be pitied and feared as she acts on in a world she doesn’t
understand. Her work, and that of her co-stars is what stays with you after the
climactic, inevitable confrontation between Morgan and Weathers. And while, the movie does contain a twist
(sharp viewers will be able to predict it 15 minutes in), it plays like so much
of the rest of the film – stale, unimaginative and a bit desperate.
This article appears in Sep 1-7, 2016.
