Flatliners is a modern science fiction drama that revolves around medical students trying to understand life after death. It is part of a much larger genre that focuses on ambition, and guilt, and explores the idea of life after death, but it also delves deeper beyond the mere superficial plot of a typical thriller. Inspired by the 1990 film of the same name, it has a unique plot to explore, while beautifully illustrating the emotions of its characters.
Though not as apparent, at its core, the film has the kind of depth that invites the viewer to experience inner reflection, the intricacies of emotion, and how one copes with the weight of one’s past actions. The character, Courtney Holmes, a medical student is at the center of this. Despite her brilliance, she is psychologically troubled by the death of a loved one. Courtney has a singular drive of wanting to not only understand life after death, but to also prove it scientifically. To this end, she has to come up with unique solutions, even ones that may fluctuate with the law of thermodynamics. Specifically, she tries to stop her own heart in order to reach a “near-death” state.
She recruits four of her classmates, who are Jamie, Marlo, Ray, and Sophia, and each of them is eager, driven, and ready to challenge the limits of medicine and science, so they are hesitant but they eventually accept the challenge of the experiment of bringing back Courtney rest of her clinical death for one minute using sophisticated medical devices. To their surprise, Courtney comes back to the session not just alive, but changed dramatically. She is more attentive, more psychologically buoyant and more agile. Motivated by her change, the remaining students decide to experience the same transformation, each one holding their breath a little longer than the previous. At first, the results are very interesting, and each individual, along with Courtney, goes through a mental block and subsequently an energetic high. Sophia improves her grades. Jamie becomes increasingly introspective. Marlo becomes more decisive with her conclusions. This experiment is truly a revelation, claiming to have discovered a form of existence beyond death and the ability to gain wisdom from it.
(“However,” – in contrast) as the group proceeds with the experiment the aftermath starts to take a more ominous and enigmatic direction. Each of the group members starts to remember more and more disturbing things from their past that they had either chosen to ignore or forgotten. These memories started to complicate their lives and their perception of reality giving rise to confusion and paranoia.
The critical moment of the movie is when the group members realize that their experiences go far beyond random side effects. It seems as though what they are seeing and feeling are linked to errors they made in the past during which they caused pain to others or bare inaction. The flatline experience in this instance is the gateway to fascinating wisdom and Exalted emotional reparation.
The initial pain is borne by Courtney. The emotional residue of the decision changes the entire family dynamic, and changes are reflected by the family unit as a whole. It is this decision that emotionally weighs the most, and this leads to a attempt to rationalize the experiment more. Their closure of what has been witnessed leads to the restructured and reformed version of their past, and this is what catapults them to face the real challenge of reconciling with the veracity of their individual histories.For reconciliation purposes and to identify means through which peace can be attained, the students start contacting people they have wronged or neglected. They come to understand that healing does not come from only science and experiments but from the virtues of honesty, compassion, and bravery.
Main Characters and Performances
Ellen Page (credited as Elliot Page) plays the role of Courtney Holmes, the first individual who ignites the experiment. Page provides a constructive and emotional performance, as reflected in the character’s inner monologues.
The most composed and logical individual of the group is Ray, played by Diego Luna. He takes on the role of the cautious one, and the emotional gravity he brings helps the group.
Marlo, played by Nina Dobrev, is a confident and adept medical practitioner who embarks on a personal journey to acquire the virtues of humility and self-forgiveness.
Charismatic yet reckless, classmate Jamie is played by James Norton, who has the challenge of learning to embrace accountability for actions that he has undertaken in the past.
Sophia, played by Kiersey Clemons, is a underachieving and bright student who wonders what the costs of having constant perfection, as well as having constant pressure.
There is an individualistic quality to the energy each actor conveys that resonates from the story. Collectively, they present an actor ensemble that is believable, and emotionally investing. Their relationships to each other epitomize the pressures and dreams of the younger generation, and of those coming of age, as they attempt to balance their professional aspirations with their personal selves.
Oplev Niels Arden, the director of the movie, combines medical realism with these functionalistic, dreamlike sequences that touch on memory and emotion. The glow of the hospital lights, along with those dim, moody soundscapes, set the parameters that delineate the students’ real worlds from their simulated flatline world.
The hospital is paradoxical in being both known and strange, in that it offers a sense of control that disappears as the experiment descends into the emotional. The flashback sequences are beautifully done in that they grant a glimpse of each character’s psyche in a manner that is neither too explanatory nor too melodramatic.
The movie is about the quest for truth. The flatline truth in this case is reality and encompasses a paradox wherein the resounding truth is not only knowledge and science. The freedom and the boundless suffering that comes from her is not relief, but understanding. It is placing yourself in the reality, and embracing the past.
The film also considers the repercussions of crossing the line ethically. Althout the characters think they are part of a benign social study, they rapidly understand that there are consequences in every choice that must be made, and these consequences are not solely scientific, but also personal, social, and moral.
The film offers the concept of forgiveness as one of its more important insights. The growth of each character is tied to the exercise of recognizing one’s character, publicly apologizing, and subsequently forgiving oneself. The film does not provide simplistic solutions, but does stimulate the need for introspection and a more humanistic outlook.
Reception
Although reception of Flatliners was mixed among the critics, a good number of the audience appreciated the emotional aspects of the story, as well as the fusion of the the moral/spiritual realms and science fiction. The ensemble acting was well received, and there was praise for the film’s treatment of its visual components, described as clean and contemporary.
Some critics, in reference to the original 1990 version, felt that this remake was more concerned with emotional evolution than philosophical pondering. Others complimented the film for attempting to communicate to the youth a message concerning personal development, moral rectitude, and the idea of a second chance.
Conclusion
Flatliners (2017) is a reflection of the inner emotional world of its characters while also being entertaining and visually appealing. The film ventures beyond the genre of a medical drama and through its storyline of ambition, curiosity, and redemption invites the viewers to ponder about their life choices, regrets, and the hope waiting at the end of redemption.
While other films of the genre focus on fear and mystery, the film focuses on the act of looking within. It also says that the knowledge and the act of looking for knowledge is also very important, but the movement towards the inner self is towards the truth, healing and forgiveness is equally important, if not more.
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