Turn Me Onincludes a question heard repeatedly throughout the film: “Are you content?” This is the robotic greeting spouted by every controlled member of arepressive dystopian societyfashioned afterBrave New World.The characters take their daily “vitamin,” just like Aldous Huxley’s “soma,” which pacifies the masses into a constant state of orderly submission.You can imagine what happens when our daring protagonist couple stops taking the drug and regains their pulse.Turn Me Onis utterly predictable in this regard. There are scant surprises here, but you will have a positive answer to the film’s constant refrain.Good character development and infectious lead chemistry make it a worthwhile watch and leave you more than merely content.
Joy (Bel Powley) and William (Nick Robinson)get up from their separate beds. “Are you content” is followed by their morning yoga session, slurping a pre-packaged breakfast shake and popping their blue and white vitamin. The television plays a bizarre animation from “Our Friends,” the unseen leaders of their secluded community. The couple barely interact as their personal apps dictate the day’s agenda. Joy has a wellness appointment after work. Then they’re both slated to interact with other couples in their “social cohort.”
Are You Content?
Turn Me On
Turn Me On is set in a world where emotions have been suppressed by a daily government-mandated vitamin. When a young couple skips their dose, they experience love and joy for the first time but must also confront the accompanying emotional challenges.
Joy, a waste management engineer, logs the bins where new members place their personal items after orientation. The materials inside are incinerated, resulting in mostly ash, leaving Joy to pick through pieces of metal or whatever wasn’t burnt. Her trip to the wellness center reveals a troubling diagnosis. No problem at all; the doctor can cure her significant ailment with a simple injection. But — drum roll please —she’ll have to stop taking the vitamin for one day.
Joy skips her pill the next morning and its absence has an immediate effect. William’s customary question gets a startlingly different response. She does not feel content; she feels “blech.” Joy admits to being bored with her job. She won’t go to work today. A dumbfounded William can’t process this new reaction.Joy recommends he also skip the vitamin and experience these strange sensations.
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Bel Powley Gives a Profound Performance
Turn Me Onhas an opening testimonial that explains why embracing “Our Friends” and taking the vitamin is so appealing. Aren’t you tired of pain, hurt, and loneliness? Wouldn’t it be better to completely forget sorrow and start anew in a place with no negativity? Order leads to “contentment.” The vitamin just facilitates the peace you’ve always wanted. Letting go of everything and finding belonging with “Our Friends” is your salvation. Screenwriter Angela Bourassa (If You Were the Last) doesn’t force anyone to join the “Our Friends” cult.The lure of manufactured happiness is a powerful motivator, but what do you lose when giving up control?
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Powley, a tremendous actress, elevates Bourassa’s script with her profound awakening.Joy, a name which now makes sense in context, removes her and William’s veils. Their discovery of sensuality and physical pleasures spurs a greater desire for knowledge. Why can’t they remember anything before “Our Friends?” Surely they must share what they’ve learned with their cohort. They also need to know there’s more to life than simply existing in a dictated routine.
Discovering True Love
Turn Me Ongoes exactly where you think it does in the second act. Joy and William’s efforts to liberate others open a Pandora’s box of consequences. Each couple was paired by “Our Friends.” No one had a choice in their partner. Even children are just dropped off when “Our Friends” decide they should have one. Choice is a fickle mistress. What you initially want can change. The chosen partner may not be the one you actually want.Jealousy and betrayal enter the equation as the plot’s soap opera turn gets messy.
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You can’t hide rebellion for too long, and the “unpilled” behavior is obviously noticed. Bourassa and director Michael Tyburski (The Sound of Silence) craft a mixed response that doesn’t hold up to logical scrutiny.Turn Me Onis a sci-fi romance, not a thriller.The filmmakers hint at threatening punishment, but that’s not actually the case. You’ll have to watch how “Our Friends” handles the cohort’s discontent and judge whether it’s realistic. I had several problems with the third act, but did accept the film’s most important theme.
Joy and William were randomly thrust together. Can they exist as a couple without the vitamin as relationship glue? Do they actually have anything in common? Does that matter in love?Turn MeOnkeeps you hooked with the sweet nectar of romance. Powley and Robinson tug your heartstrings as they learn to care for each other beyond sexual gratification.They establish a real connection that becomes endearing. There’s no doubt where the climax goes, but it is, pun intended, a joy to behold. From Vertical,Turn MeOnis a production of Truant Pictures and is currently available on demand and streaming on digital platforms such as Google Play, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and on Prime Video through the link below:
Watch Turn Me On
