I have to admit that I quite like Jared Leto and didn't even know he was in the film when i decided to watch it because it is new-ish and I like science fiction. The fact that he was the star was just an added bonus.
The movie isn't science fiction in a spaceship sense (for the most part) as it mostly takes place in modern times (or even the past.) The movie has lots of bizarre moments but also a really touching love story mixed in, which I'm not afraid to admit, i quite enjoy from time-to-time.
Warning: Spoilers ahead
First off, i don't want a character being named Nemo if they aren't in charge of a submarine or they happen to be a fish. They lose at least half a point for that blunder even though it is simply personal on my part.
Nemo in this film (Jared Leto) is a 118 year old person and is apparently the last remaining mortal on the planet. His brain seems to a be broken as he is attempting to recall his life through being hypnotized by a tattoo covered Ban Kingsley. Only then do we get to see a glimpse into Nemo's past, of which, he appears to have 3. This is where it gets really confusing.
The story jumps from life to life which is mostly focused on him being in love with or married to 3 different people.
One is Jean, who you just end up feeling sorry for because Nemo doesn't seem to be particularly dedicated to her despite the fact that she is a really lovely person. She isn't featured in the film very much.
The second love interest is Elise. Who has quite extreme emotional issues and is a real handful both in the youth sequences and the adult ones.
Elise is bedridden with depression for the most part and is prone to emotional outbursts that make her the most terrifying character in the movie. Nemo is an extremely loving partner and father and this makes her even more difficult to tolerate in the movie.
The last, and most important love interest is Anna. Anna actually ends up being Nemo's stepsister by his mom her dad getting married (I think, it isn't defined.) The two of them develop a relationship but end up getting split up because Anna's father moves to New York after he and Nemo's mom get divorced / separate. A lot of the rest of the film is dedicated to their longing for one another and even some sort of a psychic connection they share and also how fate intervenes to keep them apart at times.
I'm gonna have to nitpick about the casting here for a second. Anna's father is Canadian, yet Anna has a British accent as a child (living in Canada, with a Canadian father) but completely loses her U.K. accent by the time she is an adult. I can't figure this one out because we all end up adapting the accents of our parents and for the most part they stick with us forever. Perhaps they were the only 2 actresses that could be found that look enough alike. I don't know.
Ok, that is the main focus of the film but parts of it actually function almost like a documentary where Jared is explaining mysteries of the universe in an almost Neil deGrasse Tyson type way. Therefore, presuming that what they are saying is true in those portions of the film, you may actually end up learning something by the end of the movie.
The film is confusing because there doesn't seem to be any particular timeline or any one set of "truths" in the story-line. You exit the film not really knowing what actually happened or if any of it is actually real. It is stated by 118 year-old Nemo that "all of this is in the head of a 9 year-old boy." I guess that is ok, it doesn't really matter.
Overall i would say this is a very entertaining movie and it is up to the interpretation of the viewer as to what the heck is actually going on. So this means the movie makes you think about it long after you have seen it.
My vote is 8 /10.
As always, i welcome and look forward to your comments.
