Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, Divergent…When a children’s book series has achieved global success, it is generally a given that a film adaptation will bring crowds to the theaters.
Sensing a good deal, Netflix is currently offering the adaptation of Ugliesthe first volume in a series of five novels by Scott Westerfeld aimed at teenagers. Set in a dystopian future following the decimation of most of the Earth’s resources by humans, the story tells the adventures of Tally (Joey King), a 16-year-old girl who is about to undergo surgery in order to leave the world of the “uglies” (ugly) – reserved for children and a few heretics – to join the long-awaited world of the “pretties”, the beautiful ones.
Living in a gray dorm room, her eyes permanently glued to her cell phone, which reflects an avatar representing the promises of a bright future, Tally slips away each evening with her best friend, Nose (Chase Stokes), to contemplate the “city”, this place of perpetual party where everyone seems happy and fulfilled, unburdened by the weight of judgments linked to physical appearance.
But, surprise, surprise, this whole surgery thing isn’t as clear-cut as the students seem to be led to believe. One day, Tally’s rebellious friend Shay (Brianne Tju) lends her a forbidden book — Waldenby Henry David Thoreau, — and promises him that the place described between its pages really exists. “The Smoke” would be a parallel society where people live in communities and help each other to feed themselves, shelter themselves and clothe themselves, and where they are free to think and, therefore, to become who they really want to be.
When Shane runs away to join the group, Tally is recruited by the “pretties'” leader, Dr Cable (Laverne Cox), who threatens to deprive her of surgery if she fails to infiltrate the group of misfits and help find and destroy the weapon they are concocting to destroy the city. Upon arriving at the fairy camp, the teenager will face all her beliefs and her notions of friendship, freedom and truth.
Predictable
This summary alone demonstrates one of the many weak points of this unsuccessful adaptation, namely its predictability. Without knowing all the details, the viewer can guess well before they happen the course of events, the revelations and the questions that will assail the main character.
Yet there would have been ample material for nuance and reflection in this premise, which suggested some questions about beauty standards and the role of artificial intelligence in their construction, as well as the importance of knowledge and diversity of points of view in self-discovery.
Filmmaker McG (Charlie’s Angels) is rather content to bring action and big emotions to the screen, without trying too hard to delve into its characters and their psyche. In the lead role, Joey King gets by as best she can with this thin material, at least managing to make people believe in the badass of her character. Especially since it is let down by shoddy special effects and a design of universes and settings that does not go off the beaten track. Let’s bet that none of this will prevent Uglies to be a hit on Netflix.