Film - Repo! The Genetic Opera

I had occasion to watch Repo! The Genetic Opera recently (meaning my wife bought and said "We're watching this tonight!") and I must say I very much liked it. So here's my thoughts on Repo, starting with a description of what this thing is:

Repo! The Genetic Opera is set in a futuristic, dare I say post-apocalyptic, world. The human race has been decimated by an epidemic of mass organ failure, with more than half of humanity dying. Enter corporate body GeneCo. - a corporation that manufactures replacement organs and sells them to people on payment plans. (Note: by the time the film takes place, this has extended from replacement organs to replacement anything for the human body eg: spines, faces, eyes etc.) GeneCo. have also developed a new, highly addictive pain-killer called Zydrate to help patients/customers deal with the pain of surgery. With GeneCo.'s growing power, a law has been passed to legalise reposession of organs if/when customers default on their repayments and thus we have the anti-hero - the Repoman. Along with the brutal (and very much lethal) reposession of various body parts that has made the streets somewhat less than safe, a black-market trade in home-made Zydrate has developed - with the home-made version being extracted from cadavers. Graverobbery has become an executable offense and the world is a dark, bleak place.

The film tells the interconnecting stories of Shilo Wallace (Alexa Vega), a young girl with a blood disease that prevents her from leaving the house; her father Nathan Wallace (Anthony Head), a doctor who is secretly the Repoman; Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino), the head of GeneCo.; Rotti's three children - Luigi Largo (Bill Moseley), Pavi Largo (Nivek Ogre) and Amber Sweet (Paris Hilton); Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman), the singing publicity tool of GeneCo.; and the Graverobber (Terrance Zdunich) a black-market Zydrate manufacturer/dealer. With Rotti Largo about to die, his three children fight over who will inherit multi-million dollar corporation GeneCo. Nathan Wallace struggles with his life as the Repoman - Rotti has blackmailed him into doing this awful job and he no longer wishes to do it - but he doesn't want his daughter Shilo to find out that he does. Shilo, sick and tired of being caged away from the world, desperately seeks a cure for her blood disease - a cure which Rotti says he can provide. Blind Mag, bound by contract to publicise GeneCo. with her singing, struggles with her desire to keep the eyes that GeneCo. gave her in return for her indentured servitude. And the Graverobber watches over all, ready to cash in on whatever opportunities may arise.

Repo is presented as a true rock opera. Generally conforming to the conventions of the Operatic form, heavily influenced by 80's glam rock and soft metal musical styles, the film presents us with a score of some 28 songs (including instrumentals). The film's artistic design is very dark, clearly influenced by gothic conventions and post-apocalyptic science fiction (think Bladerunner). Visually, I loved it - but then I'm a sucker for that sci-fi/gothic look. The sets, costumes and make-up tie in well together to create a world that you can lose yourself in. My only criticisms are that the extras are so well costumed/made-up that the leads struggle to 'pop' by comparison and that the CG animation is about on the level of the Dungeons and Dragons movie. *shudders*

As for individual performances: Sarah Brightman is stunning (no surprises) but I felt she was underused - I thought there was more story to her character and felt a bit cheated when I realised that that was all I was going to get. Anthony Head (most notably of Buffy The Vampire Slayer fame - he played Giles) is in form and delivers a powerful, heartfelt performance. I was less than impressed by Alexa Vega who, while giving a technically sound performance, seemed to lack the passion and intesity of the other performers. Paul Sorvino's tenor range was absolutely beautiful, but I felt his recitative really let him down - in fact I initially wondered if the good bits had been voice doubled! Bill Moseley's characterisation was great - deliciously disgusting and angry - but singing is clearly not his first love. Nivek Ogre (billed simply as Ogre in the credits) sang the style well but his charcater didn't zing for me. His make-up (you can't miss it) seemed to over-shadow his performance. Terrance Zdunich was really enjoyable as the Graverobber and I personally thought his vocal performance was the strongest all-round when looking at the combination of rock and operatic styles. And then we come to the curious case of Paris Hilton... I hate Paris - she makes me want to throw up she disgusts me so much. She was great in this film. Admitedly, she is playing a spoiled, Zydrate addicted rich brat whose daddy gives her anything she wants, so it's not much of a stretch, but she really is believable and manages to hold her own in the singing stakes.

The score worked well for the story and did a good job of maintaining the operatic form while incorporating the rock feel. Only one song didn't seem to fit - that was Seventeen (one of the numbers sang by lack-lustre Alexa Vega) and it seemed to belong more at an Avril Lavigne concert. My criticism of the music is that none of the songs were overly memorable for me. I didn't walk away from watching the film humming tunes or having lyrics running through my head. Admittedly, I have only watched it once, but after most musical things that I watch I at least have something musical that sticks with me. With this film I remembered the visual aspect far more.

Now, there has been HUGE comparisons done between this and the Rocky Horror Picture Show with many fans being polarised as to which is the better film. Personally, I don't think you can actually compare them, as RHPS is a musical and Repo is an Opera and I think that they are different things. To me it would be like comparing Disney's Aladdin with The Fast and The Furious. But I suppose the comparison was inevitable. I will say that personally, I like RHPS more, but then it has had many years and innumerable viewings to earn its place in my heart. Maybe in 20 years time Repo might have grown one me *winks*

Okay, so I'm dying to know what other people think. If you've seen it, please make your comments, and if you haven't seen it but would be willing to give it a go, please do and then come back and make your comments.

DazzaB

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." Scott Adams