Mr. Nobody is the surrealistic tale of a man known as Nemo Nobody. Some time in the distant future, the one hundred and eighteen year old Nemo is now the last living mortal on Earth. (humans having discovered medical immortality) A reporter secretly finds his way into his hospital room in order to interview him and find out the details of his life. Nemo tells the story of his three distinct lives, insisting that they all happened. We witness the different ways his life unfolds with Elise, Anna, and Jean, each of whom were married to him. As the stories play out in jumbled bits and pieces, things slowly become stranger and stranger. Finally, we are led to a final explanation that makes everything, impossible as it is, make sense.
Mr. Nobody is, at its heart, an experimental art film. This is evidenced by the number of awards it won on the European film festival circuit, and the lack of attention it received in North America. The visuals of the film echo other similar works such as Terry Gilliam's Brazil, or the dreamlike works of David Lynch. This dreamlike quality even carries into the camera work itself. Some scenes are prone to shift in and out of focus, or to run in reverse, reinforcing the confused nature of the narrative.
The narrative itself is good, but also frustrating for those who expect a traditional story. At about the midway point, I found my attention wandering. This was simply because of the slow paced and confusing nature of the story. There is no way to tell what is truth or fiction, and because of this, I found it incredibly difficult to become emotionally invested in any character. This is not to say that the cast doesn't deliver a solid performance, however. Jared Leto does quite well with such a challenging role. This is helped by a top rate makeup department, who provided some of the most captivating, realistic looking age makeup I've seen in some time. My only true criticism is that Nemo appears to magically lose his British accent when he becomes an adult, though the plot does have a built in excuse for any inconsistencies. Of the three wives in the film, Sarah Polley delivers a frighteningly believable performance as a woman suffering from an extreme form of bipolar disorder. Acting-wise, I think Polley's scenes are some of the best in the entire film.
As the film descends into more dreamlike surrealism, the intent of the film as an art piece becomes much more clear. These sequences are the most visually interesting, and a welcome change of pace from the rest of the film. I found the final revelation of the film quite satisfying, but I can completely understand how it might leave many viewers frustrated. As I said at the beginning of this review, Mr. Nobody is an experimental film about memory and choices. On that conceptual level, it works remarkably well. Unfortunately, in the terms of a traditional narrative, it's incredibly difficult to like or care about the characters. So, if you choose to see Mr. Nobody, it's important to go in with the right expectations, or else you're going to be sorely disappointed. If you're a fan of the unusual in film, or like to challenge yourself with your media, this will be right up your alley. If you prefer your stories to have a proper beginning, middle, and end, this probably isn't for you.
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