Upside Down

Movie Review: «Upside Down».

English Title: Upside Down.
Production: Canada / France, 2012.
Release Date: 27.12.2012 (Argentina), 23.01.2012 (France).
Russian Distributor: Luxor (23.08.2012).
Official Website:
Genres: Adventure / Drama / Melodrama / Romance / Sci-Fi.
Director: Juan Diego Solanas.
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Jim Sturgess, Timothy Spall.
Running Time: 90 minutes.

The visual style of the Upside Down film can surprise you with some nice features. Where the In Time thriller divided the populace horizontally by territory between the rich and the poor, here the same happens vertically through the multi-level Transworld corporation. No, you will not see here memorable chases and shootings akin to the lastest Total Recall (2012) remake. For that this script lacked nearly extra 100 mln. USD. The main beauty of the Upper and Lower worlds appear nearly in a static form with flowing clouds and ghostly nebulae with unusual objects placed close to more familiar office interiors for modern times. There were also some daring experiments with lighting effects researched.

Cinematographer Pierre Gill is better known for his Lost and Delirious (2001) teenage drama. Production Designer named Alex McDowell worked with both Minority Report (2002), In Time and the upcoming Man of Steel (2013) title. His team included Jean-Pierre Paquet, Isabelle Guay and experienced decorator Paul Hotte, known for his work on the sets of the Catch Me If You Can (2002) and Orphan (2009) films. At first, it is kind of difficult to see the upper half of the screen hanging upside down from the ceiling, but the filmmakers tried to justify their idea further with adding long sticks for passing over objects from one world to another and made the gravity effects more noticeable.

The Upside Down soundtrack was written and recorded by Benoit Charest, who provided all the music for Les Triplettes De Belleville (2003) animated film. The local mixes sound close to what you can hear in the Trailer, while combining electronic and also guitar sounds altogether. All the necessary emotional parts are emphasized properly. Another interesting feature of the added tracks is their supplemental function. In some scenes, the music is what enriches the storyline, providing some additional narrative to the visually intriguing images.

GameScope Verdict

Naive at times, though sincere melodrama Upside Down isn’t all about only special effects, but much more surprising with the decorations of Paul Hotte, cinematography by Pierre Gill and the wonderful music of Benoit Charest. Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess do a nice job keeping up the romantic pace of the film, while the director Juan Diego Solanas is careful nurturing them, while not obstructing the main love message with the issues of futuristic capitalism or intense action too much.

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Upside Down Film Trailer

Movie Score by GameScope:

8.0 / 10