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Review: Code 46
"It's supposed to be a love story with a science-fiction twist, but really, it fails at both."
By Ursula Mehl
Code 46 is a new film from the team that brought you 24 Hour Party People (2002). It’s supposed to be a love story with a science-fiction twist, but really, it fails at both. Here’s the premise: in the supposedly not-too-distant future, cloning has become a normal part of human life, and a set of cloning guidelines, or codes, has been set up. Code 46 states that any two people who have either a 100%, 50%, or 25% genetic match are not allowed to have children.
Directed by Michael Winterbottom (Welcome to Sarajevo, Wonderland), Code 46 tells the story of William (Tim Robbins), an insurance fraud investigator living in Seattle. Access to cities in this futuristic world has become heavily restricted, and in order to enter or exit people must have “papelles.” These papers are basically a passport, visa and insurance coverage all rolled into one. Outside of the cities are shantytowns filled with non-citizens, people who cannot travel because they are without papelles.
William is sent to Shanghai to investigate a case of fraudulent papelles being printed by an insurance agency called “Sphinx”. It is here that William meets Maria (Samantha Morton), whom he suspects of creating the fake papelles. After falling in love with her, he blames the fraud on another employee, rather than turning in Samantha. Meanwhile, their love affair sizzles.
After William returns home to Seattle, his boss tells him that Sphinx hasn’t stopped issuing the fake papelles, and orders him to go back to Shanghai. He returns to the Sphinx offices, only to find that Maria has left. When he manages to track her down, he learns she has been accused of a Code 46 violation.
There are two major problems with this movie. The first is that neither William nor Maria are particularly likable characters. William comes off as arrogant; Maria as dim-witted. She seems dedicated to the idea that giving people fake papelles will always make their lives better, even though her experience proves otherwise. So it’s hard to muster up any sympathy for these characters- even when they’re forced to be apart. Later on in the film, when they’re on the run together, I have to admit I found myself silently rooting for the authorities to catch up to them.
The second problem is that Code 46 relies on a series of different science-fiction concepts without bothering to explain them. Take, for example, the extent of cloning in this futuristic society. In the movie, it’s a basic part of people’s lives, but the process behind who gets cloned or how many times they get cloned is never really explained.
When Maria goes to the hospital for her Code 46 violation, they not only abort the fetus, but also erase her memory of the man and the sex act. The idea of erasing memories is an interesting concept that deserves more screen time, but unfortunately, it’s never explained. It’s as if we’re just supposed to take these plot devices at face value.
As a result, I never felt like I knew what was going on in the film. Rather than strain to figure it out, it just made me want to tune it out entirely. Code 46 could have been an intriguing look at what the future may hold for us, but instead it ends up being just another bad love story.
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