What’s this?
I do not like Mondays. It is always a bit of a shock to get up so early and respond to colleagues after such a laid-back weekend. By Tuesday I am fine. I think the title What Happened To Monday is fitting. If I was ever going to choose a day where something bad happened, it would be that day.
This is a Netflix Original. A dystopian science fiction thriller that originally premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and stars familiar face Noomi Rapace.
What’s it about?
The premise is a distinctly interesting subject. It is 2073 and the planet is nearly beyond saving with food resource dwindling, there is an increase in natural disasters and the world appears to be over-populated. The story plants the idea that families producing too many children is the crux of the planet’s problem. Governmental departments have set up the CAB (Child Allocation Bureau) that enforces a policy that each family can only have one child, with the theory that in the short term it will deal with the planet’s issue.
Meanwhile, Terrence Settman (Willem Dafoe), has just learnt that his wife has died whilst giving birth to identical septulet sisters in an unknown hospital that is willing to keep it a secret. In a world set by the CAB policy the last thing you need is this, obviously.
The first act sets the stage; the seven sisters are trained into a robust cooperative routine to survive this dystopian nightmare in which they find themselves, in order to not get caught and cruelly executed. Conveniently, their father gives them names of each day of the week. That is the day they are allowed to go outside and become part of society. Their house is constructed in a way that allows the women to react to random strangers approaching the property if it ever became a problem. The concept is immediately absorbing which sets up the remainder of the feature.
So it’s good then?
There are a couple of elements that this movie gets right. The entire set-up presents an intriguing dystopian world accustomed to the norm that having one child is ideal to prevent disasters. The streets parade regimented CAB officials and checkpoints, something that you’d similarly see in other dystopian movies. If you are familiar with Never Let Me Go, you will understand that it hides you from the true horrors of a surviving disconnected world. What Happened To Monday wants you to understand the atrocities by showing forced compliance.
