50th Anniversary: Soylent Green

In a dystopian version of the year 2022, overpopulation, global warming and pollution have taken their toll on the planet which can no longer sustain the humans living on it.  Food, water, and housing are all hard to come by and homelessness seems rampant.  New York has a population of 40 million and only the richest of people can afford running water and natural food as well as spacious living quarters.  The Soylent corporation provides the world with most of its food in the form of wafers called Soylent Red, Soylent Yellow, and the more nutritious and tastier Soylent Green, which is in short supply, rationed and only available on Tuesdays.  Detective Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston) lives with his old friend Sol (Edward G. Robinson) who remembers what it was like before the world went to hell. Sol is a “Book”, sort of a research assistant to the police, and when they begin to investigate a murder of a very wealthy man who was on the board of the Soylent Corporation, their lives get turned upside down.  Can Sol and Thorn discover the secret of Soylent Green, or will this case cost them their lives? Watch and find out?

Soylent Green is one of those iconic science fiction films that everyone should see, and oddly enough, I had not seen it until recently. It is loosely based on the 1966 novel, Make Room! Make Room! By harry Harrison. What struck me the most is how relevant the underlying themes are 50 years after the film was made and it is a shame, we are still facing these same issues having not rectified mankind’s destructive nature. Released in 1973, the movie’s vision of 2022 is a bit bleaker than reality, but it should have served as a warning to the world of what we were becoming and could easily happen to society. Critically, the film was met with mixed reactions, some critics thought it to be “a good, solid science-fiction movie, and a little more”.  While others thought that it was intermittently interesting and focused too much on the action and not the “witless destruction of man’s resources”. Despite the mixed critical reviews, the movie won several awards, including the Saturn Award, for best Science fiction Film of the Year.

I enjoyed the film, but I can see what the critics are talking about with the over emphasis on action. Edward G. Robinson, in his final role, is the one character that brings a heartfelt nuanced performance as someone who remembers the “good ole days” when food was plentiful, and the majority of people didn’t have to live in squaller.  His tears are genuinely felt by the audience when Thron brings home a slab of beef that he stole from the crime scene he was investigating and his final scene in the movie tugs at the heart strings.  But Heston’s character of Thorn lacks most of these nuances and is pure action, with the best scenes being between him and Robinson which were often very emotional and touching.  I found it interesting, how women, specifically those they call “furniture” (basically high end, long-term escorts which you can either buy privately or may even come with the apartment you rent) are treated and how it seems women’s lib died at some point in this alternate reality timeline. The corruption within the government and the police were also fascinating.  Thorn steals all he can from the apartment of the murder victim he is investigating and is unashamed and makes no effort to hide this.  It is commonplace, and he splits his spoils with his lieutenant. The idea of rioting and the police use of force during such actions is also displayed, which is a very realistic component within the story, matching our own current events.   All this combined, makes for a fascinating film that very much speaks to our world and where we are headed if we don’t change course.  Could it have been better and focused more on these themes? Yes.  But overall, it is a very strong film that may be even more relevant today than it was 50 years ago.

And remember Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!