Womb [ Movie Review ] ★★★

The Pitch

It's quite a morbid concept for a movie. As the tagline asked, "What are the consequences of giving birth to your dead boyfriend", a woman decided to give birth to the clone of her dead lover. What kind of result would she hoped for and would this unnatural cycle of life ends in happy ending. It's a pretty weird idea for a movie but it's the morbidness of this concept that make Womb such an intriguing film to catch.

It's backed by two interesting choice for the two lead roles. Eva Green who played the female lead of Casino Royale is the lady with the unusual plan to bring her lover back. Matt Smith, the latest incarnation of Dr.Who is the lover who been brought back from death in the most unusual fashion.

The Plot

The love story for Tommy and Rebecca started when they were just young kids. They were very closed together until Rebecca had to leave for Japan with her mom. Twelve years later, Rebecca returned to find Tommy and their relationship blossom quickly like they were soul mates.

During a trip to sabotage a corporation inauguration ceremony, Tommy met with an accident and died before Rebecca's eyes. Grief stricken, Rebecca decided to clone Tommy by impregnating herself with Tommy's embryo. Tommy's mother objected to that idea but his father agreed to give Rebecca access to Tommy's cell material. He urged Rebecca to considered carefully before going through with her plan.

Rebecca decided to stick with her plans and eventually gave birth to Tommy through Caesarean section. Both of them had a close relationship but life wasn't going to be rosy for them. They soon found out that clones or "copies" were not welcome in the neighborhood. Besides discrimination, Rebecca also had to face the uncertainty of what Tommy would grow up into and the eventuality of disclosing their true relationship to Tommy.

The Perspective

Womb isn't exactly a sci-fi flick even though it used human cloning as a centerpiece for the movie. It's a moody slow film that's more concerned with a romance that's unnaturally prolonged. The deliberate slowness and the moody cinematography let the viewer contemplate on what the characters were going through.

But of course, slow and moody could also result in putting the audience to sleep. It's an art house that will not appeal to most people. I don't think that the general audience would appreciate Womb much as the restrained manner of the story telling could be rather frustrating.The subject matter in Womb is also not for everyone (as depicted in the movie). The incestuous nature of this movie might be too much for one to handle or even enjoy. 

However if one is willing to be stayed involved with this movie and be broadminded with the subject, it's actually quite a lovely unconventional love story. A love that went to the extreme was heartbreaking rendered that it's hard not to feel anything for all those involved and affected with this morbid unnatural decision. It makes one question Rebecca's decision and the boundary for true love. There's no easy answer for that and that itself will provide plenty of material to debate with your fellow movie goers (those that stayed awake) after the show is done.

Last but not least, I find the minimalist feel of Womb rather beautiful, specially the island of Sylt as backdrop for this movie. There's a certain attraction to the cold and bleakness portrayed with Sylt that actually makes me want to stay there for a while. In a way, it played a part in telling the story. The location felt like the end of the world where conventional rules are no where to be found. Just the right place for the story of Womb to take place.