Set in Shanghai in the near future, CODE 46 takes place in a world where in-vitro fertilization, embryo splitting, and cloning have become so widespread that the government monitors all pregnancies to avoid incestuous births, whether on purpose or accidental. In Michael Winterbottom's science-fiction love story, Tim Robbins stars as Will, a fraud investigator who shows up at the huge Sphinx corporation to find out which employee has been making fake papelles--identity papers that allow people to travel. With an empathy virus inside of him so he can read people's minds, Will discovers that Maria Gonzalez (Samantha Morton) is the culprit, but he instantly falls in love with her and turns in someone else in her place, leading to a dangerous affair that jeopardizes his family, his career, and his life.
The blossoming romance between Will and Maria is reminiscent of the classic BRIEF ENCOUNTER, in which two people are willing to risk so much for true love. Winterbottom, who previously scored such indie hits as 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE and WONDERLAND, combines with screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce, Academy Award winner Robbins, and Oscar nominee Morton in creating a unique vision of a technologically advanced but emotionally vapid future--except for those citizens who have been banished to the outside, where they struggle every day but have a greater understanding of what's real. CODE 46 is filled with twists, with the unexpected waiting around every corner, but at the heart of the film is the heartbreaking relationship between two compelling cinematic characters.
(5 votes)
2.
William (Tim Robbins) is a family man who works as an insurance investigator. When his company sends him to another city to solve a case of fake papelles, he meets a woman named Maria (Samantha Morton). Although he suspects she’s the one creating the forgeries, he falls completely in love with her. He hides her crime and they have a wild, passionate affair that can only last as long as his papelles: 24 hours. Back home, William is obsessed with the memory of Maria. He tries to see her but is refused the necessary papers to travel. Desperate, he uses one of the fake papelles he kept from his investigation. He eventually tracks her down, only to discover she has been accused of a Code 46 violation.
(5 votes)
3.
Like Gattacadid before it, Code 46 extrapolates from the present to posit a chilling, dystopian look at our genetically regimented future. In the corporate-controlled, near-future scenario presented by prolific director Michael Winterbottom and his regular screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce, nations and languages have merged to form a polyglot society in which genetic imperfections are avoided by the strict enforcement of Code 46, which prohibits sex between people who share 100%, 50%, or even 25% matching DNA. As an insurance-fraud investigator in Shanghai to investigate the issuance of forged passports (a major offense in an overcrowded world), Tim Robbins meets his prime suspect (Samantha Morton, echoing her role in Minority Report), and their violation of Code 46 has tragic and ultimately dehumanizing repercussions. Fascinating as a "what-if" scenario, Winterbottom's film is more successful as a melancholy mood-piece than a science-fiction tale. While the plot and characters suffer from occasionally vague definition, Code 46 offers a fascinating study of human longing in an age of oppressive globalization. --Jeff Shannon
(4 votes)
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
Movie Database
In Theaters
