Code 46

June 24, 2006 - This 2003 film is set in the (not-too-distant) future, where people need "cover" to enjoy life's amenities such as shelter and travel. Those without cover are exiled outside society.

The movie opens with some on-screen titles that set up the premise. I was sitting rather far from the TV and not wearing my glasses, so I couldn't make out a lot of it. But, through the course of the film, I gathered that "Code 46" is a reference to a person's genetic makeup - 23 chromosomes from mom, 23 from dad. In the society of the movie, cloning is prevalent, so special care is taken to make sure that people don't hook up with any of their genetic cousins.

In the movie, Tim Robbins plays a guy who's investigating a sort of counterfeiting operation at a business in Shanghai. He figures out that Samantha Morton is the crook, but he falls in love with her, so he fingers another worker as the criminal.

Tim is married, but that doesn't stop him from sharing a night of passion with Samantha. Then, he goes home to Seattle. He's later sent back to Shanghai, where he again falls under Samantha's spell. Despite the fact that Tim now knows that Samantha is a genetic "cousin," they run off in an attempt to be together.

Overall review: ** The movie sets up an interesting depiction of the future and I watched it all the way through. But, I was a little put off by the element of incest. Once Tim knew he was related to Samantha then continued to pursue her, the film took on an "ewww" factor.