ADELAIDE – Directed and written by Jonathan Levine and based on the book by Isaac Marion, Warm Bodies stars Nicholas Hoult (Skins, About a Boy) as ‘R’, and South Australian girl, Teresa Palmer as ‘Julie’.
R is an introspective and oddly alternative zombie. Going about his day to day ‘life’ whilst on a feeding encounter, R meets Julie, and has an urge to protect her. Their friendship soon follows suit, and they realise they are facing a common enemy, the ‘bonies’. In his world full of few words, the loveable character of R is easy to relate to, with his alternative choice in music and his striking compassion for sentimentality. Hoult plays the character well, and with his few lines that he has, he portrays the character in a cunning and unique way. ‘R’ is very different from his character ‘Tony’ in the first generation of Skins UK, so it was definitely exciting to see him acting again, and this time on the big screen. Adelaide actress Teresa Palmer is a perfect fit for the character of Julie, and the chemistry between Palmer and Hoult is perfect for the on-screen ‘rom-zom-com’.
What I loved so much about Warm Bodies was the way they emulated the common love and also zombie story that’s so overused in the Hollywood film industry. Although it is aimed at a 16-29 year old demographic, their light hearted comedic moments comes across brilliantly to all ages, and many viewers were laughing in the cinema. The brilliant screenplay and cinematography, which is then combined with the soundtrack is a perfect tri-combination recipe for a successful film.
The soundtrack is something that films so often fault on, but Warm Bodies employed the use of songs such as; ‘Hungry Heart’ by Bruce Springsteen, ‘Missing You’ by John Waite, ‘Hinnom TX’ by Bon Iver and ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane’ by Scorpions to entice the audience. Also on the soundtrack to the film is original music composed by Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, which is equally as impressing. If you haven’t seen it already, I definitely recommend you do. Slightly based on the play of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (R + Julie), it is definitely one to see this Autumn.
4/5 Stars
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Showtimes for Warm Bodies in Adelaide, SA
Warm Bodies on the IMDB