Film:The Host
Release Date:March 29
Studio:Chockstone Pictures
Grade:B-
Temptation is a complex sensation to conquer. During a person's immortal teenage years, saying no to intimacy is a battle within itself. Morals clash and everything is up for ante.
Such themes are explored in Stephenie Meyer's latest supernatural, sleazy romance film: The Host. Much like the Twilight saga, this film offers little insight on real-life scenarios involving passion and romance. Instead, once again, a strong, adolescent girl is trapped in a love affair between two tall, handsome guys. How engaging.
What the film does get right is the portrayal of seduction between the couples. One boy expresses affection toward the girl as her morals clash to resist him. She then attempts to seduce the other boy, who earnestly withstands from her love. The words used to express their emotions are contrived, but tune them out and pay attention to the seduction chess game played and there might be a watchable film lurking around here somewhere.
The first portion of the film is unbelievably appalling. After Uncle Jeb (William Hurt, Maddened By His Absence) narrates how aliens have inhabited most of humanity, the film dives right into an old-fashioned, obligatory chase scene between the film's heroine, Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan, Byzantium), and the main antagonist, The Seeker (Diane Kruger, The Bridge).
The Seeker is one of the aliens, called Souls, who have embedded themselves into the bodies of humans. Melanie is one of the last survivors in the opening scene but falls out of a window and is captured.
This dizzying opening sequence catches the viewer off guard, forming many questions early on. For instance, if a viewer waltzed into The Host with no prior knowledge of its premise, the point of the film would quickly become arbitrary and uninteresting.
But stick around for the latter portion of the film. Melanie successfully escapes from the Souls, but not before becoming one of them. Her body is inhabited by a Soul who calls herself Wanderer. Of course, this particular Soul is female, so naturally she falls for an attractive human male. Melanie's own soul remains lingering in her body, unable to physically control it.
Before her capture, flashbacks reveal Melanie had fallen in love with a fellow survivor: Jared Howe (Max Irons, Red Riding Hood). The conventional plot naturally leads Melanie back to Jared and his group, but in an unsuspecting twist, Jared actually refuses Melanie's advancements toward him, rarely found in romantic Hollywood films.
Meanwhile, Wanderer, still in control of Melanie's body, falls for another survivor of the group, Ian (Jake Abel, I Am Number Four). Their chemistry is the most fascinating feature in The Host, as Ian willingly seduces Wanderer into kissing him - a moment that many estranged teenage couples can relate to.
To much surprise, the romantic battle between Melanie, Jared, Wanderer and Ian is perplexing and works, mostly because the girls share the same body. Melanie loves Jared, so when Ian seduces Wanderer, Melanie's voiceover is heard shouting, "No! Stop!" just like a real situation might carry out.
Another pleasant surprise about The Host is its reduced action sequences, which aren't wall-to-wall with explosions and guns a' blazing. Director Andrew Niccol (In Time), who wrote the screenplays for 1998's The Truman Show and 2005's Lord of War, keeps his action straightforward and mostly comprehensible. He only includes action when necessary, focusing more on the love triangle.
Many people will avoid The Host like a disease, based on the past works of Meyer. While it is childish and conventional, the film is somewhat conscious of how teens might think in difficult romantic situations. While the Twilight series was a parable for young women willingly losing their virginity, The Host shows and tells what young women might think about while seduced by men.
It's an interesting parallel. Sort of.
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