Level 16 (2018)

(On TV, July 2022) I will forever defend Science Fiction’s ability to literalize the metaphor, to extend philosophical arguments to dramatic extremes and to propose conceptual breakthroughs that make us rethink the nature of reality. But it’s always possible to overuse those strengths to the point of clichés, and clichés are the only things I’m left with after watching Level 16. Writer-director Danishka Esterhazy probably wanted to deliver a statement on the exploitation of girls, rile viewers with the idea of extreme violence and wow mainstream audiences with genre tricks. Unfortunately, if you’re even mildly conversant with SF clichés (and who isn’t at an era where such ideas are not confined to specialist fiction?), it takes mere minutes to predict the entirety of the plot. From the moment the first few minutes introduce an austere, hermetic academy in which girls are taught to be compliant and stupid, the only question is “So, are they being groomed for sex or internal organs?”  The answer will surprise you, but only because it’s the dumbest single possible answer to the question, and it doesn’t change anything to how the film does. Slow-paced, glacially photographed and playing along intensely familiar clichés without an ounce of self-awareness about it, Level 16 painstakingly gets its two lead characters through the obvious process of doubting authority and discovering the truth for themselves. The film’s few better moments shift focus from the students to the teachers when it’s clear that this facility is not doing well at all in servicing its potential clients. But never mind that interesting line of thought—the rest of the film plays straight to expectations and the tritest plot anyone could come up with. Vastly overlong at 102 minutes for what’s essentially a TV episode’s worth of content (and not an overly original episode at that), Level 16 sometimes attempts to distinguish itself through style but generally fails at that too. I’m hardly the first one to note that the problem with people thinking of themselves as Science Fiction writers without any familiarity with the genre is that they end up boldly reinventing clichés and wallowing in them. Level 16 may wow people who have never seen another SF movie in their lives, but does that describe anyone these days? Oh; I know—maybe, in an austere hermetic academy, young girls grow up without watching Science Fiction…