At first glance, Greatland seems like a futuristic celebration of gender and sexual diversity. Joyfully and comedically irreverent, kaleidoscopic and full of pride, the viewer feels the unbridled freedom and is swept up along with a score that resounds back in stereo. On the other hand, a further dive has doubt arising. This utopia has us questioning both this world and where our own is going. The Dana Ziyasheva film may even be outright criticizing the excess of the trans/non-binary movement. So a second watch might be a good idea, and the same goes for a third. In fact, there are no limits and unquestionably this thought-provoking, covertly cynical work will have you seeing something new every time.
Wakey-Wakey, our multifaceted traverse begins with Ulysses (Arman Darbo) meeting the new day. Loud, gaudy clothes, miss matched wall paper and brightly colored everything else, he’s the main character in this seemingly benign Lord of the Flies setting.
However, it’s the oversight of the computerized AI voice of Mother (Jackie Loeb) that helps ensure the tranquility. “Rise and shine my little nonbinary bundle of joy,” the voice-over exudes carefree comfort and security.
In turn, Darbo gives us exactly what’s expected. He doesn’t go to school, eats candy for breakfast and has no real parental guidance. So the young actor is correctly oblivious.
Even so, this book isn’t to be judged by its cover, and Ulysses’ negative reaction to taking part in the Dark Temple Ceremony turns the first page. A 15th birthday ritual, Darbo makes us feel his teenage wrath by storming out on the omnipotent Mother without regard.
Still, there’s no getting away, and like 1984, the voice follows him. Not in the know yet, we can very easily miss the vast overreach and the ever-present brother (or mother) doesn’t seem so big.
The same goes for the disheveled state of the exterior. The colors and pride that the Charles Schner cinematography lambasts are so striking we miss the mess created when joy, pleasure and the absence of limits are the main form of control.
At the same time, love is always in the air and includes the interspecies kind with dogs, cats and plant life. Sounds like the offensive argument certain elements make against LGBTQ lifestyles, but maybe Ziyasheva is going for something more relevant and foretelling.
When diversity and inclusion encompass the whole, the majority can be excluded, and the whole of society ends in a much worse place. The point is reiterated when the over the top revelry is accompanied by a circus sounding composition.
Nonetheless, control still requires hate and misinformation. This island of lost misfits are supposed to live forever, but Evildom has negated the efforts of Greatland scientists (or altruists) and are in it to see the experiment fail.
A pretty big deal, Ulysses isn’t really moved. He just wants someone to speak the truth – especially in regards to who his father is. Thus, the youngster’s prods for honesty begin to reveal a passive aggressive type of terror, and Mother really delivers. Loeb never gets off her even keel, and the chill singes, because all matters come with the same cold calculation. Her minions then easily follow suit with their more invasive retributions.
The paradigm emerging, Ulysses also wants a place for himself and Ugly Duck (Chloe Ray Warmoth). From the Greatland point of view, she is of low born origins, and imagery of her birth would make Goebbels proud.
Of course, she’s not so scary, but Warmoth’s steely resolve makes for a formidable partnership, which bodes poorly for the people in charge. So she is cast out first, he follows, and in this, they are positioned to disrupt the machine.
In the way, to our delight, Ulysses and Ugly Duck actually find Eric Roberts. One of the key altruists, the Oscar nominee plays the position of power with a privilege that he doesn’t deserve. The character may even accept that. But Roberts makes sure we know he doesn’t care, and the preeminence gives the character an impish disregard for what’s fair or right.
There’s a certain delight to the little dance Roberts does in the film. You get the sense that the performance conveys that it’s never acceptable for reason and logic to fall to the whims of the current mob flavor of the month.
A little less exciting, Nick Moran plays Ulysses’ father, and does so with a sage like Yoda-ness. Among the founding architects, he sees the possibility for change in his son, and inspiration the intent, Dad schools the boy on Divide and Conquer control and Revolution 101.
Ulysses and Ugly Duck can now play the saviors. But Greatland doesn’t give us the typical heroics. Change and progress is messy, and you got to do it more than once before hitting home – just like this film.
