Somewhere in the future there exists a world stripped of people by a devastating plague. One last city-state ruled by a brutal regime remains. A single woman fights against this system. In a g-string. This is the world of Aeon Flux.
Based on Peter Chung’s stylistically cunning animated series of the same name, the upcoming film tells the story of Aeon, a high-ranking operative in the underground movement aiming to topple the fear-riddled state of Bregna where free speech and individual rights aren’t even a memory. It isn’t too difficult to see the allegory, at least according to Charlize Theron, who plays Aeon and won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in Monster.
“The whole film is really about questioning your government,” Theron remarks. “The majority of America is doing that right now and so I think it is a very relevant film.”
Superficially, the differences between our world and Aeon’s are few but they appear upon closer examination. Theron is shocked by the similarities between this dystopian vision and the present day.
“I sometimes didn’t think of this as a futuristic film at all, it deals with issues that I think we are dealing with right now,” she says. “If we do not pay attention to them we will be dealing with the final product of what Aeon Flux deals with 400 years in the future. So maybe we can learn something.”
The animated series has reached a cult status, leaving the film adaptation with some large shoes to fill. Fortunately, Theron met with Chung, who visited the set of the movie to give his seal of approval.
“This is his baby, so we wanted to keep him involved and he obviously came up with this creation and this woman,” she says. ” I wanted him to be happy. For Peter Chung to come on the set and feel the same way I think is a huge validation for fans of the show. I think the core of who Aeon is in that world of Bregna was important, and so was coming up with a storyline reflecting the questions that Peter asked in his anime while putting it in a situation relevant to today’s issues. I think all of those elements will make it something very truthful and authentic to the anime, but also in the realm of film.”
Though the film tries to stay as true to its inspiration as possible, even Theron admits there were aspects of the series they could not duplicate on the screen. Aeon’s infamous hair and costume are two of the more notable examples.
“I think a lot of people who are a fan of the anime will understand,” she explains. “If you know the anime really well you understand that it is pretty much impossible to double that exactly on film. I am not a cartoon and I cannot run around in a g-string and do the splits on screen, because Paramount would not be able to release the film. So I think, I really truly feel that people who do love the show will not be disappointed.”
In an ominous move, Paramount decided not to screen the movie for critics, usually a sign the studio thinks this movie will be panned, damaging its lucrative opening weekend. Twentieth Century Fox took the same route with Alien vs. Predator and made a modest success of what critics later labelled a dog. If they can do it with ugly creatures fighting each other, Aeon Flux shouldn’t have much of a problem with Charlize Theron shooting things in fetish wear.