This review does not contain spoilers.
Not a Netflix original but can be found on Netflix, Mr. Nobody is about the life of Nemo Nobody. Nemo was born February 9, 1975, however, the year is 2092 and he is turning 118 years old. Nemo thinks he is 34 and it is 2009. He thinks he is in a dream and wants to wake up.
His life is televised as the last mortal who will die of old age. He begins to accept this as a reporter sneaks into his room to hear his story. The reporter tells Nemo no trace of his identity has been found in their history records so they have no idea about who he is or his past.
Nemo also doesn’t seem to have a good idea of who he is. He speaks of cars that polluted, smoking cigarettes, sex, and eating meat, a time before immortality.
The story begins.
Nemo recounts his life, as much as he can remember, with a twist.
He tell his story through the various life choices he made, may have made, or wished he made. After his parents divorced should he have lived with his mother or father? Should he have married Elise or Anna or Jean? Should he be a writer or a scientist?
Rhys Ifans, Thomas Byrne , and Natasha Little
Courtesy of Magnolia Home Entertainment
The story of Nemo moves in and out of different story lines, times, decisions…we don’t know what’s real and what’s not.
Jared Leto acts wonderfully, telling his story as an old man, and as a young man. Keeping in mind that this movie was released in 2009, if you are seeing the moving for the first time today, Leto, at moments, will put you in the mind of another character he played, THE JOKER from the 2016 movie Suicide Squad. When you hear his laugh as an old man you will know this is where he got his inspiration for the Joker’s laugh. Another little tidbit, the man playing Leto’s father, Rhys Ifans, played The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-man.
“This is the most beautiful day of my life.”
One thing I found odd was that he has an accent when he is flashing back to his younger self, but when he flashes back to his adult self he does not, the adult women also don’t have accents. At one time he could have moved to New York and possibly lost the accent maybe.
There are essentially three different story lines, which may have been too many. They also seemed to switch between the childhood, young adult, and adult life, just enough to make it slightly confusing in terms of trying to keep track of the timelines. The ending is an interesting surprise though.
Watch this with me?
Ehhh, maybe. I would give this movie a 3 out of 5. If you enjoy scifi and have the time give it a watch.