Ryan Kreps
Media Review Writing

What is light without dark? Peace without war? Ying without Yang? In the film Equilibrium a society known as Libria, adopts a drug that neutralizes any emotions in order to protect humans from themselves, but is it ever possible to simply mute human emotion, and if it is what is are our emotions replaced with. An impressive film written and directed by Kurt Wimmer, Equilibrium uses an all-star cast to portray a world policed by masters of weaponry known as Grammaton Clerics, and plagued by a society of “sense offenders”, who choose to divulge in acts that would allow them to feel. A film of opposites, of Ying and Yang, can one survive without the other?
Equilibrium begins introducing the idea of the cleric, more machine than man, taught never too feel, too sense when others are feeling, and at all times to obey their great ruler, Father. Christian Bale plays the highest ranking cleric, John Preston, a man who watched as his own wife was taken away for sense offense and stood by silently, who within the first several minutes of the movies is forced to kill his long time partner Errol Partridge played by Sean Bean for the same crime, and does so without hesitation. But it is his partner’s last words that begin to cling to the mind of this perfect cleric, John questions why Errol would ever disobey the law, why he would feel, has he not seen the rage, the violence, the anger? As Partridge lowers his book he quietly states “A heavy cost. I pay it gladly”. The rest of the film revolves around Preston, who accidentally destroys his medication and begins to feel, as he does so he slowly realizes what his partner meant “A heavy cost. I pay it gladly”, he meets a beautiful women played by Emily Watson, and without the hindering effects of his drug, he sees her beauty, feels her warmth, smells her scent, “A heavy cost. I pay it gladly”, he awakes too see the sun rise through his window, as tears drip down his face, “A heavy cost. I pay it gladly”. The question then becomes what he does with his new found emotion, a question the sense offenders are happy to answer.
This movie though a fan favorite, with amazingly choreographed fight scenes, impressive actors, and interesting plot is far from unique. The idea of stopping censorship of human emotion, to better human beings is one that has been attempted with films such as The Cradle Will Rock, one that shares the actress Emily Watson as well as Sean Pertwee, the actor who plays Father, where the American government attempts too quiet and censor a group of thespians from performing a work that they casts an inglorious view on their country. In Fahrenheit 451 a society is controlled and told what books are appropriate reading and which ones are not, the ones that are not are burned by “Firemen”, one such Fireman, Guy Montag, decides to read one of the books and slowly realizes the beauty that has been denied to him his entire life, an almost parallel description of Equilibrium. Though this film has been done before, almost exactly at times, it does take a unique stance.
Equilibrium is not only an emotional endeavor dealing with censorship, and the rights of humans too feel, but is also an action packed thrill ride, spear headed by the Clerics method of a “Gun Ballet” of sorts. This well choreographed dance is seen often in the movie, but is not the only action John Preston proves himself an impressive swordsman in an epic battle against his new partner, and fights five men at once using only the butt of his gun. Many films tell a story, others tell a truth, in the case of Equilibrium, much like light and dark, war and peace, Ying and yang, the real truth lies somewhere in the middle.