Anybody here see and remember the movie "The Running Man"? It starred Arnold Schwarzenneger and took place in a dystopian future in which the mindless masses were kept entertained with programs featuring blood and violence. You have pretty much the same thing here except the violence has been replaced by celebrity sex by players who pay their dues on the way to becoming the next 'Hot Shot'. All throughout, the story hints at the idea that the principal characters Abi (Jessica Brown Findlay) and Bing (Daniel Kaluuya) won't succumb to the relentless pressure of achieving that status, knowing that the only thing they each want to do is what makes them happy. But that choice is made impossible by celebrity judges Wraith, Hope, and Charity, who promise to send the fan favorites back to their lives of daily boredom scoring points while creating energy for the State and watching mind numbing programs of questionable value. An alternate ending in which Bing slashes his throat would have been considered more acceptable to this viewer, in as much as he seemed to be fiercely opposed to the choice he was offered, but in the end he too failed to deliver on his principles. Not that he had to be that drastic, he could simply have returned to his previous status. As Rod Serling once posited in one his more memorable Twilight Zone episodes, I guess it's all in the 'Eye of The Beholder'.
Review of Fifteen Million Merits
