Expired, is an independent Australian sci-fi noir by Ivan Sven. In the near future, Jack, a mercenary for hire, lives a monotonous existence. In between murders, he spends his nights paying AI women for company. In a life filled with robotic interaction and cold-blooded murder, comes April, a karaoke performer. As Jack’s feelings for April deepen, his body starts to mysteriously break down. Finding himself stalked by mysterious robotic henchmen, he crosses paths with Dr Bergman, a reclusive scientist, who may have answers about his current predicament and also his elusive past.
From the opening sequence, all the hallmarks of a sci-fi noir are present. Jack, with haunted eyes, stalks his targets down labyrinthine alleyways under a sky filled with misty neon and looming high rises. The crowded streets camouflage him, and the people surrounding him see through him. He is the quintessential assassin, a lonely man who lives like a ghost in his own life. April, a woman who has left her life in Vietnam behind to find opportunity in an unfeeling city, also exemplifies the alienated loneliness of the dispossessed. Two lonely souls cast adrift in a cruel world crash into each other, in a chance meeting that changes both their lives. This romance element adds a heartfelt twist to the story of the hardboiled killer for hire. The inevitable heartbreak only emphasises the noir heart of Expired.
Represent(ing) the capitalist hellscape of the near future, including the ever-present issues of vice, without the misogyny present in some other films (Blade Runner 2049 anyone?). Rather than buying sex, Jack seeks to purchase intimacy, a fleeting few moments of connection.
One of the most interesting elements of the film is the world Sven has built. Set in the near future, the viewer is able to envision the life Jack and April inhabit. All the dangers we fear are present in this reality. News reports warn of catastrophic storms, police are subject to bribery and corruption, and people are killing each other and stepping on those less fortunate in an attempt to live forever. This world is not so far away, making it even darker and more sinister. The futuristic elements are coupled with an often jarring inclusion of older artefacts, like discoloured desktop computers. This dissonance reminds us that however much things change, they always stay the same. In this futuristic version of Hong Kong, where people live side by side with machines, and have the opportunity to live well beyond the years naturally allotted to them, evil still thrives. Jack and April are still poor. April sells her voice to faceless men in brief, unfulfilling interactions. Jack sold his body, then his soul when hours of back-breaking labour didn’t pay enough to buy a cup of coffee. This world feels familiar, and a natural conclusion to the story we are currently confronted with in the news on a daily basis. The inherent wickedness of capitalism and the fallacy of neoliberalism is echoed in the harsh lives lived by Expired’s characters.
One of the strengths of Expired is that it manages to represent the capitalist hellscape of the near future, including the ever-present issues of vice, without the misogyny present in some other films (Blade Runner 2049 anyone?). Rather than buying sex, Jack seeks to purchase intimacy, a fleeting few moments of connection. With April, we see a woman selling her body and time, but without the ever-present nudity and sexualised violence so often present in sci-fi films.
Expired is a dreamy, neon-drenched noir that is achingly beautiful and haunting. It reminds us that, no matter how far technology advances, loneliness can still thrive when human connection is lost. Perhaps that is the inevitable result when we push to replace humans with machines and seek to outlive our loved ones in a grasping quest for immortality. The world Sven paints is a grim one and should act as a cautionary tale.
4/5
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