Film Review: 'Greatland'

In the vibrant utopia known as Greatland, life is all about diversity and love. At least, that's what Ulysses (Arman Darbo) grew up believing. But that worldview changes on his 15th birthday--the day he's set to undergo a mandatory rite-of-passage ceremony. It's on that day that Ulysses and his best friend "Ugly Duck" (Chloe Ray Warmoth) witness her father Mr. Lee being "sent to Resurrection" for not reporting how his daughter had contracted a virus that was plaguing their world. Having already seen how Mr. Lee was punished with becoming invisible and mute for conceiving Duck through "Stone Age procreation", seeds of doubt have already been planted in Ulysses' mind about Greatland's "perfection".

So when he learns that Duck has been sent to Repentance Island after failing her own rite-of-passage test, Ulysses finally decides to rebel against Greatland and its citizens' universal matriarch to rescue her. Along the way, Ulysses will learn the dark truth behind Greatland--and it'll be up to him to help put a stop to the madness.

Having just finished reviewing Eric Roberts' latest Lifetime project, it only felt natural to throw this indie feature of his onto the chopping block next. But don't let the above poster fool you. Despite getting top billing and having his face prominently featured, Roberts' role in Greatland is minuscule, with his character not even making an appearance until an hour into the movie. It's actually a case of double Billing Displacement, as Nick Moran's character (while introduced a few minutes sooner) is still far from a lead. At least the poster isn't totally deceitful, with Arman Darbo being the appropriate focal point. But marketing choices aside, Greatland's poster does a good job of showing you what you'll be in for if you decide to watch. The movie wastes little time throwing you into the titular paradise's oddities, with the visual overload often becoming overwhelming. This was likely intentional, given how quickly it also becomes apparent that Greatland's eccentricities hide an ugly reality of dictatorial corruption. With its bizarre aesthetics, Greatland could've been a unique dystopian drama with a compelling message about the true meaning of progress.

But instead, Greatland is led astray by direction that doesn't seem to know what to do with the hackneyed and confusing story its telling. It can't be said that Dana Ziyasheva didn't have lofty ambitions when it came to her sophomore feature film, which she both directed and wrote. Released in late 2020 with plot points revolving around a devastating virus and a chaotic election, the political undertones of Greatland aren't hard to see. Much of the film aims to satirize leftist culture, with such jabs and hints ranging from subtle (a sign with middle finger stickers next to rainbow hearts) to incredibly on-the-nose (the women of Greatland being separated between the "S.L.A.V.E Sanctuary" and the "Felinist Movement.") Most of the Greatland-residing side characters exist solely to be exaggerated caricatures of leftism and political correctness, with loud personalities and annoyingly pantomimic performances to match. Putting aside my own political standing, the intended effect of the nonsensical insanity gets old pretty quick and just becomes overbearing and unpleasant. It's especially frustrating when Ziyasheva insists on interrupting the "story" every so often to throw more wackiness in our faces.

And I put quotation marks around "story" because that's where much of Greatland's problems lie. As bad as movies like Hex or Fatal Fiancé might've been with pacing, at least it wasn't bad enough to make their stories incoherent. Here, Greatland spends so much time meandering and pausing to revel in its weirdness that its story doesn't have a chance to grow. As such, the rules of Greatland's corrupt government are left unclear and the third act follows Ulysses and his ally on a long, exposition-heavy mission to save Ugly Duck and put an end to Greatland's tyranny. Except because of those vaguely defined rules, their mission makes little to no sense, culminating in an ending with no finite answer on what lies ahead for Greatland. Will things get better? Worse? The climax says one thing while the final line/shot says another. Rather than intentionally ambiguous, the finale feels like Ziyasheva realized how incomprehensible her story was and decided to wrap things up on something that at least sounded cool.

Greatland's script is similarly disorganized in regards to its political message. Initially, it's clear the satire is directed at the left-wing, often stumbling over the line between poking fun at the hypocrisies and flaws of the party and outright bashing the group. Not helping are the very homophobic implications that crop up throughout the movie, given how much disparaging attention is drawn to Greatland's "progressive/inclusive" views on gender roles and sexuality. Later on, though, it feels like some flak is also thrown towards the right-wing party, albeit not as overtly as the left-wing lampooning. In the end, it feels like Ziyasheva was trying to simultaneously appeal to and criticize both sides of the political spectrum, only to create a jumbled mess for her message to get lost in.

The cast behind Greatland does the best they can with the mishandled script, though some do so better than others. Nick Moran is the surprise weakest link as "Clerk", as Moran's delivery is frequently stiff and makes his character sound less like a revolutionary genius and more like an unbalanced conspiracy theorist. Arman Darbo fares somewhat better as Ulysses, having his moments of being a likable Only Sane Man among Greatland's craziness and selling most of Ulysses' more vulnerable moments. SPOILER ALERT He and Moran also share some nice estranged father-son chemistry, which allows Moran to make up a little for where his performance elsewhere is lacking. Spoilers Over

But for the most part, Ulysses is a blank slate character, essentially just there to be someone for the viewer to follow through the movie's madcap universe. Chloe Ray Warmoth gives the most natural/emotive performance of the main trio, befitting Ugly Duck's status as the most sympathetic main character of Greatland. SPOILER ALERT Eric Roberts makes the most of his short screentime to bring charm to the surreptitious and perverted "Alpha Altruist," giving the crooked leader the same arrogantly sleazy allure as Albert Beck. At Roberts' side is Jackie Loeb as the Alpha Altruist's wife "Lady Omega," with Loeb overcoming her character's stale introduction by playing Lady Omega's neurotic mood swings and reveal as a psychotic murderer with theatrical zest. Lady Omega's villainous breakdown is a delightful treat in the midst of Greatland's uneven and confusing final act. Spoilers Over Bill Oberst Jr. also deserves a shout-out for his short scene as the "Philanthropist," which is made morbidly memorable by his commitment to playing the crazy-eyed creep.

Sadly, there's not enough the cast can do to counteract how badly Greatland falls in terms of writing. The story's pace is all over the map, making the muddled script and shoddy world-building even harder to stomach. And regardless of your personal affiliation, Greatland's political subtext goes from degrading one side to bewildering all sides by the end credits. As one last sprinkle on this sundae of disaster, the sparsely used special effects and CGI are noticeably bad. With better writing and clearer direction, Greatland could've been an engaging drama serving as an even-handed allegory for our tumultuous and at times ridiculous political landscape. As is, all the flashy colors and drug trippy sequences can't draw attention away from where this movie fails.

Score: 2.5 out of 10 birthday cake bans.