Review #252: 'Silent Running' (1972)

Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) is a botanist working on the Valley Forge, a spaceship that concentrates on maintaining plant life which has all but vanished on Earth. When he and his three fellow crew mates receive a message to destroy the domes that contain the forests and return to Earth, Lowell murders his crew mates and fakes a technical problem with the ship in order to escape into deep space so he can preserve his beloved forest. The resident 'bots, who Lowell dubs Huey, Louise and Dewey, provide him company. He at first re-programmes them so they can perform surgery on his injured leg, but later he teaches them to play cards and to tend to the forest. As time goes on, Lowell struggles with his loneliness and his guilt over the murder, and must find out why his forest appears to be dying.

Silent Running is one of those films that I've seen consistently mocked, homaged and referenced by other movies and programmes, but the film itself has always managed to elude me. Made around the time where people were starting to take notice of the eco-system and the fact that we may be slowly destroying the Earth with our acts, the film still packs a punch in the modern world that is all too aware of the threat of Global Warming. It does deliver a powerful ecological message, but the film is surprisingly more effective on a human level. Although Lowell seems to be on the verge of madness with his love for the beauty of nature, it is later in the film, when we see him lonely and missing humanity, that truly speaks volumes. Nature may be beautiful, but nothing is more comforting than human contact.

Despite having a strong message, the film always avoids being preachy. It instead focuses on the mental instability of the protagonist, who spend the majority of the film existentially pondering if this lonely existence he has created for himself was really worth murdering three of his colleagues. The film is also profoundly moving. The three robots prove loveable characters, though they never speak or ever communicate properly on a human level. The threat of their demise also lingers, and when it inevitably happens it's almost appallingly moving, given that they are clearly just robot costumes (controlled by amputees, I must add).

The film is no masterpiece by any means, but as a work of science-fiction, it is certainly brilliant. Back in the late 1960's and throughout the 1970's, sci-fi was inspired by ideas rather than special effects. The likes of Star Wars (1977) created a vast new world for it's audience to get lost in, and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), combined philosophy and mysticism to create a work of high art. The special effects maestro behind 2001, Douglas Trumbull, directs here, and uses the futuristic setting as a conduit to send a social message of the way our planet is heading, that is more profound than ever given our heightened awareness of our effect upon the planet.

Special mention must go to Bruce Dern, who delivers a highly effective, if slightly over-the-top performance, as the angry and bewildered Lowell, who exists in a world where the Earth is scarred and devoid of plant life. This is original, innovative and surprisingly dark science fiction that manages to be both existential and entertaining. It's not perfect - the music is cheesy, the sets are very 1970's, Dern overacts to the extreme - but this is a cult favourite for a reason. It is simply a loveable film.


Directed by: Douglas Trumbull
Starring: Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin
Country: USA

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie