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If we as a nation are reaching an increasingly critical juncture over the fate of labor, \u201cThe Mill\u201d is a film that appears startlingly well-suited for the moment. The dystopian thriller, directed by Sean King O\u2019Grady, almost literally translates the idea of cog in a machine, following Joe (Lil Rel Howery), a middle manager within a major corporation called Mallard, as he mysteriously wakes up in an open-air prison and is forced to push a grist mill hundreds of times, 18 hours a day. He doesn\u2019t know how he got there, only that, as a neighboring prisoner who talks to him through a vent explains, you better keep working or get \u201cterminated.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
It\u2019s an intentionally spare work \u2014 most of the film is confined to this one small outdoor space \u2014 but its stripped-down nature exposes the film\u2019s often graceless execution. While it aims for sharp-edged commentary, the movie at times reads, ironically, like an A.I. generator took a handful of anticapitalist talking points \u2014 the ruthlessness of the corporate apparatus, the unwieldy danger of Big Tech\u2019s algorithms, the power of labor organizing \u2014 and spit out a serviceable but unimaginative dystopian satire.<\/p>\n
The film lacks any well-executed surprises to help it push past one-dimensional satire, and Howery is not strong enough of a dramatic actor to keep a single-setting, single-character film like this consistently engaging. As Mallard\u2019s computer overlord increases Joe\u2019s work demands and punishments, the film has the feel of an overextended, limp episode of \u201cBlack Mirror\u201d: moderately entertaining, but lacking any teeth to its political bite.<\/p>\n
The Mill<\/strong>
Not rated. Watch on Hulu.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n