Repo Men

The Hollywood blockbuster season is almost upon us, and an early entrant is Repo Men, the directorial debut of Michel Sapochnik. Repo Men, written by Eric Garcia and Garrett Lerner, is based on the novel, The Repossession Mambo by Eric Garcia. It is the not too distant future and multinational conglomerate The Union have made organ donors and waiting lists a thing of the past, by manufacturing artificial mechanical body parts available to the general public. The only draw back is that they come with a hefty price tag, and if you can’t keep up with the payments, The Union will send one of it’s repo men to take back their property.

Enter Remy (Jude Law). Along with his partner and lifelong friend Jake (Forest Whittaker), the pair carry out their jobs with ruthless conviction. When they question what they are doing, they reassure themselves that it is just a job. Whittaker makes a memorable speech about how it is rules that hold society together, and the only thing more important than the rules is the enforcement of those rules. It serves as a justification for what they do for a living. This conflicts with his family life however, as Remy’s wife wishes for him to quit and take a job in sales.

On one last contract, Remy visits the home of T-Bone, one of his musical heroes, played by rapper RZA, who owes money for his heart. In one of the film’s more touching scenes, Remy allows him to finish one last song before he cuts open his chest and takes his heart back, effectively leaving him to die. However, a freak accident occurs involving a defibrillator and Remy wakes up to find that he has been fitted with a brand new artificial heart, courtesy of The Union. Everything seems fine until he has a predictable moral dilemma and can no longer do his job. He can’t afford to pay for his new heart and goes on the run where he meets the beautiful Beth (Alice Braga), a club singer whose body is made up almost entirely of artificial parts, which haven’t been paid for. After several Jason Bourne-esque battles with Union men involving anything from a pair of scissors to a typewriter as weapons, Jake is inevitably sent after them. The film culminates in The Union headquarters, where Remy and Beth make a desperate bid to bring down the system.

The plot of this film is fairly predictable, and the ideas are nothing new, but the thing that makes this film interesting is the slightly satirical way it deals with present day healthcare problems. The idea that a men would break into your house and take back your organs is obviously ridiculous, but the idea that a corporation would exploit sickness and disability by selling hugely expensive artificial body parts is not so far-fetched. The film is essentially an all out action film with all the violence and good versus evil of a Michael Bay blockbuster, however it seems to give a slightly subdued middle finger to the genre. Scenes of perverse and disturbing humour litter the film, be it suited businessmen wielding knives or nine year-old backstreet surgeons. The final twist further dislocates it from other action thrillers in creating an ending, which is not mind blowing, but at least sets it apart from others in its genre.

Watch the Repo Men trailer.

Last edited: 21st August 2010

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