Do you think the scientists in the film were obsessed with the idea of Morgan?
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Either underwritten or over-edited, the sci-fi thriller has a decent if largely unoriginal and not thoroughly fleshed-out premise and some notable actors in its cast, even if some of these talented folks show up only for a scene or two. I got close to the crew and so I hung out with them a lot.
Lee Weathers (Kate Mara) is assigned to examine the collateral damage of a violent attack that occurred in her company’s research laboratory and gauge the risk of a future incident.
Marking the feature film debut of director Luke Scott, the movie explores some touchy moral areas about creating synthetic life, as it follows a group of scientists who finally manage to create a ideal specimen that they name Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy). Having only been taught happiness and sadness, Morgan suddenly finds herself unable to process all the nuances in between those two poles, and the resulting confusion somehow leads her to crack in the most brutally horrifying manner imaginable.
Because of isolation and amount of work invested, the scientists behind the project have developed emotional ties with Morgan, and are not particularly willing to cooperate.
In addition, the script raises some tantalising possibilities (Morgan’s feelings for Rose Leslie’s compassionate behaviourist, or the way she views Yeoh’s character as her mother), though it ultimately abandons them in favour of the sort of generic action-packed climax that you suspect was dictated by test audiences. Everyone at the compound – save for Skip (Boyd Holbrook of “Gone Girl”), the good-looking and charming cook – are wary of Lee. “I’ve done little stunts her and there in films, but never [anything like this]”, she said.
Well, Lee seems likeable enough, but it’s harder to get a feel for Morgan, who’s being restrained beyond a wall of glass for the moment.
But although they refer to her as “she” as in “she’s special”, they really do know that she’s actually an “it”, even though that’s a rather easy fact to temporarily forget when they’re interacting with “her”.
Paul Giamatti plays Dr. Alan Shapiro in “Morgan”.
Morgan is director Luke Scott’s feature debut and like his father (Ridley Scott), plays a heavy hand in the sci-fi realm.
“Morgan”, unfortunately, provides neither experience. You’re rooting for not one character, but all of the characters. For better or worse Morgan has been as deliberately engineered as its subject, created to be nothing more than a slim line of credibility-challenged horror plot twists and over-the-top fight scenes between two young women.
Their mother would often take the girls to see the latest big movies when they were kids, but there isn’t much that would overawe the Mara sisters.
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And yet “Morgan” is largely entertaining. She will do anything to cling to life, and her strongest desire is to visit the handsome lake Amy once promised to show her. She’s the humanity that keeps “Morgan’s” heart beating. With such a brief running time that is mainly spent showing the creature striking back at its creators, there isn’t time to connect with the characters as much as we probably should.
