LX 2048 contains multiple sci-fi concepts and influences, from A Brave New World to Danny Boyle’s Sunshine; however, it fails to add anything new to ideas that have been previously explored with more skill, resulting in a boring watch.
The year is 2048 and the sun has become too powerful, leaving most people unable to venture out in the daytime, instead they are plugged into ‘the realm’, a sophisticated VR playground where you can happily live out your life. Most of the population are also hooked on Lithium X, a drug which makes you happy and accepting of this ‘brave new world’. Adam Bird (James D’Arcy) is one of the few who rejects the status quo. He isn’t having a great time, having been told by his cloned doctor that he is dying from a heart condition, and being stuck in a messy divorce with his wife. Due to the film’s budget, we regularly see Adam with a headset on interacting with the realm but are unable to witness it, this initially gives way to some fine acting, but ultimately becomes frustrating. Adam is desperately trying to provide for his kids before he is replaced by a clone of himself (this happens to everybody in 2048 apparently).
There are some fine actors on display, including Anna Brewster as Adam’s nasty wife and Delroy Lindo as a tech genius whose role becomes inconsequential. Director and writer Guy Moshe clearly had a lot of interesting things to say about humanity and technology but unfortunately it is tied up in a claustrophobic affair, with unpleasant characters and tedious scenes, with the finale turning into an elaborate farce. Skip this drug and experience the real world – socially distanced, of course.
