Film Review — "Humane"
I added Caitlin Cronenberg’s Humane to my Shudder watchlist quite some time ago, probably the day it joined the platform last summer. And having now sat through it, I’m so glad I waited. Had I consumed the film back in July, or anytime between then and the 2024 U.S. election, I may have reacted less favorably.
Humane is a not-subtle satire for our not-subtle times. I’m much more open to “superficial” social commentary and “on the nose” allegory these days than I’ve ever been. Probably because everything about today is shit, it’s getting shittier, and it feels more and more like it with each passing week.
The film envisions a very-near future where the climate crisis has shattered the breaking point and cannot be ignored any longer. People can’t go outside without a UV-proof umbrella, all home and car windows require protective tinting, etc. So now, as if there’s any going back, each nation must do its part to decrease the global population. About one in five need to die! Like, yesterday. And the civilized way our society has chosen to reach this goal? Enlistments for peaceful euthanasia. Sounds 100% fair and absolutely humane, right? … Right? Right!
Yeah no, obviously not. And honestly, the premise isn’t even that absurd, in terms of believability; at least, as of right now I don’t feel like our present reality is too far removed from Caitlin Cronenberg and screenwriter Michael Sparaga’s forecast, or their prediction for how things would ultimately play out among a certain stratum of the populace.
Here it’s the affluent and influential members of the York family: retired TV news anchor Charles, celebrity restauranteur Dawn, rightwing “anthropologist” Jared, pharmaceutical company CEO Rachel, aspiring actress Ashley, and adopted music prodigy turned recovering addict Noah.
I love a dark actor-centric drama set basically in one place, and that’s pretty much what this is. At Charles’s behest, the family gathers at Chez York so he can break the news to his adult children that he and Dawn (his current wife/their stepmother) plan to enlist in the government’s euthanasia program. His sons and daughters are shocked to learn this because certainly the program isn’t for People Like Them.
Jay Baruchel’s Jared, who is in no manner of speaking modeled on Ben Shapiro (nope, not in the slightest), is especially aghast. After all, his proximity to the current presidential administration and the family’s immense combined wealth guarantees that the Yorks will be fine. Because, c’mon now, this depopulation program is actually meant for Those People to participate in, duh! Jay Baruchel hits all the wretched notes and paints Jared out to be the exact type of humongous piece of rotten shit that guys like Ben Shapiro Jared are.
Emily Hampshire’s performance as the ice-cold Rachel complements Baruchel’s douchey arrogance so well. They make for a convincing eldest daughter/eldest son duo brought up under the same highly privileged roof. I must admit, prior to this I was unfamiliar with Emily Hampshire’s range. I only really knew her as Stevie Budd, the best character on Schitt’s Creek. [*faux-edgy comic voice* Yeah, I said it!] I really need to check out Hampshire’s other work because anytime she gave me a new reason to dislike Rachel, I couldn’t help but hope that this big pharma exec was on her way to the chopping block, since—surprise!—someone new has to die now!
One of the parents gets cold feet and skedaddles ahead of their scheduled euthanization, and an agent with the Department of Citizen Strategy (DOCS) insists that another adult member of the family has to fulfill the defector’s contractual obligation to die tonight and become the second of the two pledged York bodies, OR ELSE.
The agent gives the siblings two hours to choose whom among them it will be. There is no backing out. There is no buy-out. Grievances are aired, lines are crossed, violence ensues.
Enrico Colantoni plays the DOCS agent, who’s delightfully named Bob. If you’re like me, you best-know Enrico Colantoni as Mathesar from Galaxy Quest, and if you’re like my boyfriend, he’s Veronica Mars’s dad. In other words, Enrico Colantoni is truly one of our finest character actors and a perfect fit to play the offbeat and morally questionable Bob, who’s been euthanizing folks a smidge too long, and it shows. He’s unnervingly chipper at times, and it’s not immediately clear from the jump if we ought to be on his side. Because, on the one hand… killing people, bad… but on the other hand… killing the rich and powerful, hmmmm… In the end, though, Cronenberg makes it abundantly clear how we should feel about Bob and DOCS, and Colantoni’s portrayal keeps the ride to that conclusion interesting.
Cronenberg’s overall handling of the story is decidedly un-cinematic, which is a tad disappointing. The lighting is lackluster, and there’s not much visual language to captivate the eye. Cronenberg opts, instead, for the cast to be the most interesting thing on screen at any given moment, and, given how uNliKaBLE the characters are, others may find that more frustrating than I did. I don’t need to “like” people or be given a reason for why I should want to watch their stupid lives play out—especially when the plot calls for them to cut each other down.
It is kinda funny how Caitlin Cronenberg, daughter of one of the granddaddies of modern horror, opted for her debut to be, in essence, about nepotism problems and a fight over which silver-spoon kid is superior. And maybe the tides will turn someday, but, as of right now, as much as I admire Humane, I’m afraid that Brandon Cronenberg is currently winning the Cronen-baby war. (Granted, he’s had a head start.)
