The Platform
/“There are three kinds of people; the ones above, the ones below, and the ones who fall.”
Filmology Rating: 3.5 out of 4
The Platform is a Spanish science-fiction thriller that was picked up by Netflix at the Toronto Film Festival. More quarantine content to watch!
A vertical prison with one cell per level and two people per cell. There is one food platform and two minutes per day to feed the top cells and down to the bottom. However, food rarely makes it to the bottom... An endless nightmare set in a dystopian prison called the Pit.
This may be the most coincidental movie ever made because this film was submitted to film festivals last year, before the coronavirus. It is now on Netflix, as of recently, and it literally shows how awful and barbaric humans can be with resources in a time of crisis. It's literally what's happening in grocery stores right now.
Other than my intense fear of being admitted to a psychiatric hospital knowing that I am completely sane, my other great fear is probably humanity itself. Films like 'The Mist' and 'The Dark Knight' show that humans have breaking points and at that point, it's a dog-eat-dog world and it's horrifying to know what we're capable of if given the circumstances.
It doesn't surprise me that Netflix dubbed the movie for English-speaking audiences because they do that for other international markets as well. However, the dubbing isn't the greatest. In fact, it distracts you from the very good performances in the film. It's the kind of dubbing that reminds me of spaghetti westerns and how awful the dub is usually.
Though it may not seem like it, there is a focus on character. Like 'Escape From Pretoria', it feels like a film reliant on the external aspects, but there is a great deal of psychological damage that comes to our protagonist and he does change quite a lot. It's not necessarily a normal three act structure, but the film is broken into acts as our protagonist goes through changes. An intriguing way to break the film up actually.
The lead is played by Ivan Massagué who gives a similar performance to that of Robert Pattinson in 'The Lighthouse.' Though Pattinson's character goes more off-the-hinges, Massagué delivers a performance that feels like it comes from the inside out.
It's a very contained film and for the right reasons. Like 'The Mist', this film is meant to be a microcosm of a capitalist society and the film does so in a brutal and grim way, which is key for this film to be effective.
There's also a touch of dark humor in the film, but used very minimally. When admitted to this prison, you have the ability to bring one thing in with you. Anything. Our protagonist brings a book, another character brings her dog and some people bring samurai swords or knives. It's neat because it shows the kind of person they are by what they bring in.
At ninety minutes, the film is just the right length to deliver an intense experience that reminds you how awful humans can be sometimes. Perhaps watch 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood' after this for a quick pick-me-up.
Rating: See It
-Nolan