MOVIE OF THE WEEK: Warm Bodies

The teen romance genre gets a somewhat unique twist with Jonathan Levine's latest film "Warm Bodies". The plot tells the story of a dystopian future where much of the population has been turned into zombies. These "walking dead" zombies have been separated from the living humans, to prevent the remainder of mankind from being eaten. While on a hunt for medical supplies, a girl named Julie and her companions are attacked by a group of zombies. One of them spares her life however and eventually they fall in love.
The film starts out being quite interesting, more for the stylistic choices than the screenplay. Specifically, I was initially drawn to the upbeat soundtrack and the cinematography. There are some great songs in there from artists like Bruce Springstreen, M83 and Bon Iver which keeps it light and fun, despite the macabre setting. The variation in the cinematography was also nicely done, adding an artistic touch. As we move towards the romance though, it quickly becomes obvious that the premise of the film doesn't make much sense. We've been conditioned to believe that love is a powerful force that transcends race, religion etc., but this feels like a stretch. Particularly when you consider the situation that causes the lovebirds to meet, it's implausible that a relationship would develop.
Despite this, Teresa Palmer and Nicholas Hoult do a good job in the lead roles. Even though the romance seems unlikely, they manage to portray emotions that seemed genuine. Hoult admirably manages the difficult task of playing "dead", with much help from superb zombie makeup. Hitherto unknown Palmer was a nice surprise too, drawing you in with her intense eyes. She actually reminded me of a slightly more vivacious Kristen Stewart. I think we'll be seeing more of her in the future.
Even with the rough plot, it's an enjoyable film that wraps up quite nicely in the end. If you ignore the contrivances (there are numerous instances where the script breaks its own rules to propel the story), then I think you'll find something to like here.

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