Movie Review – Self/less

Ben Kingsley plays Damian Hale, a wealthy NY real estate mogul dying of terminal cancer. His final hours are spent scrambling to “shed” his mind from his body and have it transplanted into a genetically grown, healthier body. The young scientist credited for this miracle albeit illegal feat is Dr. Albright. The new Damian (now played by Ryan Reynolds) cuts ties with his past life, except for the money of course. He enjoys a life of luxury, women and physical activity. But complications arise; memories of an unfamiliar life flood Damian’s subconscious.
Tarsem Singh, director of duds Immortals and The Cell successfully squanders this perfectly intriguing idea. Selfless is visually delightful, the only positive to its credit. The film struggles to grasp onto a singular purpose, shoehorning ideas until it fully decomposes into lazy storytelling. Some of those ideas include a simple internet search that unravels the secretive “shedding” conglomerate, and the continual reincarnation of evil henchmen. The actors don’t help. Reynolds delivers his typical bland performance, while Kingsley coasts along in an underutilized capacity. The biggest red flag is in the movie’s villain (Matthew Goode) who isn’t believable. It’s really quite the frustrating, self/ish experience.