Today’s quick review: Upside Down. Up Above and Down Below are two adjacent worlds affected oppositely by gravity. Each world seems upside down to the other, and social and legal barriers make it difficult to cross over even when it is physically possible. When Adam (Jim Sturgess), a kind-hearted boy from Down Below, strikes up a relationship with Eden (Kirsten Dunst), a girl from Up Above, it ends in Adam’s arrest and a head injury for Eden, leading to amnesia. Years later, Adam sees Eden on TV and seeks out a job at Transworld, the world-crossing megacorporation where she works. But physics, Transworld’s security measures, and Eden’s amnesia conspire to keep him from her, requiring all of Adam’s ingenuity and determination to overcome.
Upside Down is a sci-fi romance set on two worlds with opposite gravities. The movie has a strong science fiction premise, but its main focus is on its love story. The reversed gravity is a key part of the setting and the plot, but details that don’t advance the romance are shoved into the background. Thus Upside Down hand-waves important points that would be at the center of a sci-fi movie in favor of Adam’s struggles to reach his true love. Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst do have good chemistry together, but the nature of the plot keeps them apart most of the time. The few times they are together are squandered on bliss rather than character development, depriving the relationship of much of its depth.
The extent to which you enjoy Upside Down will be the extent to which you enjoy Adam. His narration, his starry-eyed yearning for Eden, and his attempts to use his meager resources to find a solution are at the forefront of the movie. Jim Sturgess gives a decent performance, but his character cannot carry the movie on his own. A more meaningful supporting cast would have put Adam’s natural friendliness and dogged tenacity in perspective while making the plot less linear. The one supporting character of note, one of Adam’s coworkers (Timothy Spall), supports this hypothesis: with just a few minutes on screen, he has several good moments that could have been expanded on.
Visually, Upside Down is spectacular but somewhat confusing. The inverted gravities and dual skylines are clear enough, but busy digital landscapes, heavy blue filters, and intense sunlight make for a gorgeous yet disorienting visual backdrop. The gravity reversal effects are used just enough to drive the plot, with a few flashes of inspiration but not the hardcore abuse of the premise one might expect. There is little action to speak of, just peril at appropriate moments. The soundtrack is a hidden gem, subtle, airy, and perfect for the setting.
Upside Down is a skippable film with a few interesting aspects. Fans of science fiction will be disappointed by the romance-heavy plot and the decision not to explore the premise in greater depth. Passing details exploiting the rules of the universe show that the creators gave the matter some thought, but a few tweaks would have made the science fiction much more satisfying. Fans of romance can probably find richer love stories with similar themes without having to suspend their disbelief. Watch Upside Down if you are still curious enough about the premise to overlook the subpar execution. Skip it if you are looking for sci-fi or romance separately. For an animated take on the same premise, check out Patema Inverted, where the worlds are odder but the fundamentals are more sound.
6.4 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for worthwhile pieces that do not quite come together.