Speaking of the end...was it really?
Joe's your average day worker in the rat race of life. He's employed by a massive corporation a la Amazon or Walmart, struggles to pay bills while working as much as possible to earn more, and is a first time father. Unfortunately, Joe wakes up in a room on the dirt floor with no memory of how he got there. Upon further inspection, he not only sees a massive stone wheel on a circular track but is greeted by his neighbor in the next cell over. The neighbor is short with details on what the purpose of this room is, but tells Joe he needs to rest before the next day. The Mallard Corporation greets Joe and explains that he is being punished for his team's lack of productivity and that he is required to complete 50 rotation of the wheel daily. Basic meals and water will be provided but he's not allowed to leave. Initially, Joe is happy to comply and eventually sets the bar higher to 100 rotations. His neighbors are bittersweet about this as now they have to meet the same goal or higher to not be terminated. Joe finds out the termination process is a middle of the night wake up call of screams of the terminated employee. Mallard sees how well he's done and rewards Joe for his excellent work with an engraved pen that he points out is utterly pointless. He surpasses his quota yet again to 350 and is met by anger from his neighbors and fellow jailed workers. The cycle continues without cease and eventually Joe fights back. Mallard recognizes his resentment and penalizes him with a 2-for-1 rotation schedule and a giant magnifying glass type object in the open air roof that expands the heat from the sun. Barely making his goal, Joe decides to plan escape and leaves via a dig out hole in the wall. His escape is only into the next room and he's caught and knocked out. Mallard is furious and not only forces Joe and the other workers to complete 1000 rotations but punishes his neighbor for concealing information on how to escape by breaking both legs. The neighbor is distraught realizing he can no longer stand and will be terminated that night. Joe attempts to comfort him and apologize but his neighbor tells him that he created the prison. He was charged with creating the algorithm on the prison and the algorithm expanded on its own causing the prison that has no escape. Joe realizes that it's a computer and figures that if the entire jail refuses to work, the system will be beaten. All join in on his plan and no one works until the days end where Mallard informs them that anyone that does not make 1 rotation will be killed. Despite his rousing speech, neighbors begin to complete the quota refusing to die for Joe's beliefs. Feeling defeated, Joe is encouraged by his neighbor to complete the task as he will continue to live to see his son unlike himself. That night he confides in Joe that his name is Alex and that he was the only known person to ever escape the prison but just like Joe, was caught and returned. He had faith that Joe wouldn't be as unlucky as he would and would actually find a way out but in the end surmised that there really is no official escape. Alex tells Joe that he has a child as well and that he had the chance to see him grow and that Joe shouldn't give up so that he can be given that same opportunity. During the night, Alex is terminated. Joe awakes to Mallard telling him they are there for him during his difficult time and shows Joe a video of a toddler and his wife leaving their house. Joe knows that it's a ploy and fights back against Mallard causing the system to immediately terminate him. 12 people enter his cell and surround him with glass clipboards and are introduced as HR. The guard arrives telling Joe he loves his job but that he really enjoys the terminations. He prepares an injection and tells Joe that there will soon be a spot opened up in higher management along with a new housing opportunity and he hope that this next review of his performance will give him that promotion. He also tells of a single mother and son who live at the house and hopes they stick around as well. This sends Joe into a frenzy and he attacks the guard nearly beating him to death. As HR watches on with smiles, Mallard informs Joe that if he completes the termination of the guard that he will be promoted and the termination for him will be revoked. Joe realizes he's only a pawn in the game and stops his assault. He tells Mallard that he won't be made into a monster and quits.
Joe now wakes up with his chin in a stand and electrodes on his head. He's now in a suit and has been taken out from the jail. The guard approaches him and tells Joe that he's in a simulation created by Mallard to promote working harder and in reality he's only been in the simulation for a 60 minute long lunch period. The guard introduces himself as his HR partner and congratulates him on his success not only as a leader in the simulation but for his promotion to level 8. He takes Joe to his new office all the while Joe flashes back to his time in the jail. He talks the promotion up as a large opportunity but only leads him to a tiny windowless room. He tells Joe they set his computer up with family pictures and they include a name placard but overall it seems to be the same day in and out as before. He tells Joe that he is to watch 10 videos of training for his daily quota and that he has all night. He then produces an NDA for the simulation forcing him to be quiet regarding the process. Although hesitant, Joe eventually signs. He is then left to his office alone to finish his daily work. Instead of starting, Joe calls his wife. He tears up hearing her voice and tells her that he's staying late but that it's different this time. After his goodbyes, he stares into the camera announcing he will burn the place down.
The end? Really? That's it? After all of that, he just goes back to his every day activities and says he's going to take the place down. Is this figuratively? Is it metaphorical? Who knows! The ending leaves you with the feeling that there will be another chapter to the story but that it's highly improbable that it will come about. We spend an hour and a half immersed in a dystopian world of torturous AI's and pointless jail sentence work all for the last 10 minutes to conclude nothing. Who was Alex? Was this just part of the simulation? Is his plan to keep climbing only to make upper management and destroy the company? Did he really sign the paperwork of the NDA making it null and void so that he can spread the word of the simulation? What exactly is the story here?
The Mill starts strong but fails so bad in the end that it's almost pointless to watch it. The acting, while decent, also comes across as fake at times. The only fight scene in the movie is very obvious that it's staged. It also seems very unlikely that we have been watching this entire thing for the equivalent of less than a week and yet he has no idea how long he's been there. I guess it could be because the AI made the simulation that way but it still seems a bit silly.
Overall, 4/10. What leads to a possible great ending only introduces a completely different movie.
Joe's your average day worker in the rat race of life. He's employed by a massive corporation a la Amazon or Walmart, struggles to pay bills while working as much as possible to earn more, and is a first time father. Unfortunately, Joe wakes up in a room on the dirt floor with no memory of how he got there. Upon further inspection, he not only sees a massive stone wheel on a circular track but is greeted by his neighbor in the next cell over. The neighbor is short with details on what the purpose of this room is, but tells Joe he needs to rest before the next day. The Mallard Corporation greets Joe and explains that he is being punished for his team's lack of productivity and that he is required to complete 50 rotation of the wheel daily. Basic meals and water will be provided but he's not allowed to leave. Initially, Joe is happy to comply and eventually sets the bar higher to 100 rotations. His neighbors are bittersweet about this as now they have to meet the same goal or higher to not be terminated. Joe finds out the termination process is a middle of the night wake up call of screams of the terminated employee. Mallard sees how well he's done and rewards Joe for his excellent work with an engraved pen that he points out is utterly pointless. He surpasses his quota yet again to 350 and is met by anger from his neighbors and fellow jailed workers. The cycle continues without cease and eventually Joe fights back. Mallard recognizes his resentment and penalizes him with a 2-for-1 rotation schedule and a giant magnifying glass type object in the open air roof that expands the heat from the sun. Barely making his goal, Joe decides to plan escape and leaves via a dig out hole in the wall. His escape is only into the next room and he's caught and knocked out. Mallard is furious and not only forces Joe and the other workers to complete 1000 rotations but punishes his neighbor for concealing information on how to escape by breaking both legs. The neighbor is distraught realizing he can no longer stand and will be terminated that night. Joe attempts to comfort him and apologize but his neighbor tells him that he created the prison. He was charged with creating the algorithm on the prison and the algorithm expanded on its own causing the prison that has no escape. Joe realizes that it's a computer and figures that if the entire jail refuses to work, the system will be beaten. All join in on his plan and no one works until the days end where Mallard informs them that anyone that does not make 1 rotation will be killed. Despite his rousing speech, neighbors begin to complete the quota refusing to die for Joe's beliefs. Feeling defeated, Joe is encouraged by his neighbor to complete the task as he will continue to live to see his son unlike himself. That night he confides in Joe that his name is Alex and that he was the only known person to ever escape the prison but just like Joe, was caught and returned. He had faith that Joe wouldn't be as unlucky as he would and would actually find a way out but in the end surmised that there really is no official escape. Alex tells Joe that he has a child as well and that he had the chance to see him grow and that Joe shouldn't give up so that he can be given that same opportunity. During the night, Alex is terminated. Joe awakes to Mallard telling him they are there for him during his difficult time and shows Joe a video of a toddler and his wife leaving their house. Joe knows that it's a ploy and fights back against Mallard causing the system to immediately terminate him. 12 people enter his cell and surround him with glass clipboards and are introduced as HR. The guard arrives telling Joe he loves his job but that he really enjoys the terminations. He prepares an injection and tells Joe that there will soon be a spot opened up in higher management along with a new housing opportunity and he hope that this next review of his performance will give him that promotion. He also tells of a single mother and son who live at the house and hopes they stick around as well. This sends Joe into a frenzy and he attacks the guard nearly beating him to death. As HR watches on with smiles, Mallard informs Joe that if he completes the termination of the guard that he will be promoted and the termination for him will be revoked. Joe realizes he's only a pawn in the game and stops his assault. He tells Mallard that he won't be made into a monster and quits.
Joe now wakes up with his chin in a stand and electrodes on his head. He's now in a suit and has been taken out from the jail. The guard approaches him and tells Joe that he's in a simulation created by Mallard to promote working harder and in reality he's only been in the simulation for a 60 minute long lunch period. The guard introduces himself as his HR partner and congratulates him on his success not only as a leader in the simulation but for his promotion to level 8. He takes Joe to his new office all the while Joe flashes back to his time in the jail. He talks the promotion up as a large opportunity but only leads him to a tiny windowless room. He tells Joe they set his computer up with family pictures and they include a name placard but overall it seems to be the same day in and out as before. He tells Joe that he is to watch 10 videos of training for his daily quota and that he has all night. He then produces an NDA for the simulation forcing him to be quiet regarding the process. Although hesitant, Joe eventually signs. He is then left to his office alone to finish his daily work. Instead of starting, Joe calls his wife. He tears up hearing her voice and tells her that he's staying late but that it's different this time. After his goodbyes, he stares into the camera announcing he will burn the place down.
The end? Really? That's it? After all of that, he just goes back to his every day activities and says he's going to take the place down. Is this figuratively? Is it metaphorical? Who knows! The ending leaves you with the feeling that there will be another chapter to the story but that it's highly improbable that it will come about. We spend an hour and a half immersed in a dystopian world of torturous AI's and pointless jail sentence work all for the last 10 minutes to conclude nothing. Who was Alex? Was this just part of the simulation? Is his plan to keep climbing only to make upper management and destroy the company? Did he really sign the paperwork of the NDA making it null and void so that he can spread the word of the simulation? What exactly is the story here?
The Mill starts strong but fails so bad in the end that it's almost pointless to watch it. The acting, while decent, also comes across as fake at times. The only fight scene in the movie is very obvious that it's staged. It also seems very unlikely that we have been watching this entire thing for the equivalent of less than a week and yet he has no idea how long he's been there. I guess it could be because the AI made the simulation that way but it still seems a bit silly.
Overall, 4/10. What leads to a possible great ending only introduces a completely different movie.