Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley stars as billionaire industrialist Damian Hale in Gramercy Pictures' provocative psychological science fiction thriller Self/less, directed by Tarsem Singh and written by Alex Pastor and David Pastor. Photo Credit: Alan Markfield / Gramercy Pictures (C)
– Film Review –
– By Cate Marquis –
“Self/Less” is a science fiction/action thriller with a far-fetched premise but entertainment potential. It starts out strong with Ben Kingsley as a selfish billionaire and Michelle Dockery as his estranged daughter but its dramatic arc is dragged down when wooden Ryan Reynolds appears.
Kingsley plays a man so rich he wants to buy a way to cheat death – and finds someone willing to sell him that ticket to that dream. Like any such bargain, there is a price to pay, not just in dollars. In this case, the Faustian deal to cheat death is provided by technology and a genius scientist who has found a way to transfer a person’s consciousness into a fresh young body, grown for that purpose. Thankfully, “Self/Less” skips any attempt at a “scientific” explanation for this technological reincarnation and goes straight for the action as the newly-reborn billionaire navigates his brave new world.
© Cate Marquis
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