By Becca Johnson - November 10, 2024
Imagine living in a world where human emotion is no longer, life decisions are presented to you via a TV screen and the only adjective you can use to describe your mood is ‘content’. Turn Me On makes this a reality, set in a world where taking a daily vitamin eradicates all emotion.
Directed by Michael Tyburski (The Sound of Silence) and starring Nick Robinson (Jurassic World) and Bel Powley (The Diary of a Teenage Girl), the film focuses on a young couple who choose to skip their vitamin dose, leading them to discover love, joy and sex for the first time. However, they quickly come to realize that this newfound pleasure comes hand-in-hand with emotional baggage. Well acted by its leads and presenting plenty of engaging ideas, Turn Me On is a charming, funny sci-fi romance that despite lacking exploration with some of its themes, is an entertaining and thought-provoking watch.
The most likely comparison Turn Me On will receive is to Black Mirror, as it thrusts audiences into a dystopian setting with a science fiction spin. The central premise at play here is an intriguing one, seeing our characters navigate a world with no emotion or autonomy. Unable to say they dislike their jobs, aren’t ready for a child or don’t want to hang out with the people in their bubble, there’s something unsettling, chilling and mundane about the way these couples live. The world-building on display is good, as it takes the time to set the scene and show us how the characters communicate with each other and go about their day to day lives. It seems slow to start but that only makes its point stronger - living this way is unnatural and inhumane. Within the first few frames, Turn Me On begs the question ‘is there more to life than this?’, which is an interesting angle.
As the run-time progresses and our lead couple, played by Powley and Robinson, stop taking their vitamins in order to experience ‘real life’, Turn Me On almost transforms into a comedy romance of sorts. Watching the pair discover the pleasure of sex for the first time and sharing it with their friends without understanding the intimacy of it offers up a few laughs, and the chemistry between the pair is strengthened as they form a genuine bond. They become a couple worth rooting for the further their true selves are developed, giving them both engaging arcs that really grow and transform. We get to see them smile, laugh, choose their own paths and enjoy each others company genuinely, which offers up plenty of refreshing, charming moments. Of course, this pleasure and joy is also accompanied by negative emotions. Jealousy comes into play, arguments occur and the pair struggle to control their feelings. Though this idea could’ve done with a little more development, especially where the dialogue is concerned, it does have a nice overall message surrounding what it means to be human. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows, but without those harder moments, it’s harder to appreciate the good. Turn Me On is great at getting you thinking about how much the good outweighs the bad, thus delivering a hopeful approach.
From a technical standpoint, Turn Me On is fairly impressive. The lead performances from Powley and Robinson are great, with the pair delivering believable chemistry as the run-time progresses. Starting off quite stoic and one-dimensional to then transform into emotional beings with a sense of adventure is no easy feat, yet the pair deliver it well. The dialogue they’re given isn’t always the most engaging, but their performances elevate it nicely. The best element of the script is its dark humour; the cast are expert at delivering it, and it adds some needed moments of fun and levity. It’s also nice aesthetically, with the overly sanitized locations and plain costume design adding to the loss of individuality that their situation portrays.
There’s some tremendous talent in the supporting cast, including Patti Harrison (Theater Camp) and Justin H. Min (After Yang). Though their performances are impressive, particularly from Harrison who is doing what she does best here, they don’t get as much screen-time or development as they should. Not only is the talent in the cast under-utilised, but the script is weakened by severe under-development of our side characters which gives things a surface level feeling. Whilst it’s nice to focus on our main pair, and their large amount of run-time allows us to bond with them, the storyline could have been massively improved with more of a focus on the wider scope.
Turn Me On works well as a presentation of good ideas. Though it certainly gets you thinking, the scripts heart is in the right place with a satisfying overall message and there are many intriguing themes at play, it could’ve taken its exploration and discussions much deeper. That being said, the performances are great, the light humour works a treat and it has many beats that feel fresh and unique. Turn Me On is a fun little watch that fans of Black Mirror-esque dystopian worlds will certainly find enjoyment in.
Turn Me On is out now on digital platforms
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