THX 1138 is the directorial debut of George Lucas, representing a fuller version of one of his student films from the University of South Carolina. Lucas used inspiration from a variety of sources, with the most obvious being George Orwell’s 1984. THX 1138 also shares themes with Brave New World, The Machine Stops, and the short film by Arthur Lipsett 21-87. Francis Ford Coppola helped produce THX 1138, along with Warner Bros. The overall style of the film appears to also take some lessons from French New Wave, as the visuals are very austere and bold.
Lucas is certainly a visual filmmaker, as his Star Wars films would attest to. His love for effects is certainly apparent in his first film, too, as the androids and characters he creates have deep science-fiction relatives. One can see some visuals from Lucas’s future work coming together in THX 1138, so viewing it is an interesting experience. Never particularly gifted in working with actors, Lucas’s films tend to rely more on the effects than anything else and this film is no different. Perhaps the only exception to this rule is in American Graffiti, where he demonstrates somewhat of an ability to conduct his performers.
THX 1138 is an experience that represents “escape.” Lucas’s film is filled with strange visuals that help establish the bleak futuristic world in which the events take place. People are controlled with drugs and security forces. They are given roommates at random with computer sequencing, enabling procreation without emotion. The people are given names and numbers, like THX or LUH, and all forms of personal identifying factors are stripped away. We aren’t sure how the world turned out this way and Lucas doesn’t explore many of the broader concepts, choosing instead to focus on one or two characters.
THX (Robert Duvall) is one of the characters. He is a nuclear production line worker and his emotions are suppressed through a myriad of drugs. THX has a female roommate, LUH (Maggie McOmie) who has stopped taking her drugs. She secretly substitutes inactive drugs for THX’s drugs, hoping to push him out of the drug-induced haze too. THX finds himself experience unique emotions for the first time, including sexual desire. This leads to a loving relationship between LUH and THX. The couple also plans to escape the “superstructure” they are locked in, but before they can escape they are captured and charged with “unauthorized sex.”
THX is then incarcerated in a strange white room that appears to be endless. He is surrounded by other “criminals,” most of who are rather odd. SEN (Donald Pleasance) is a sinister technician who has been locked away for attempting to manipulate the system. He joins with THX in trying to find an escape from the horrible white prison. They eventually find their way out and go their separate ways, with SEN exploring the city and THX heading straight for the exit. THX takes off and embarks on a car chase through the futuristic city streets. The police pursue him, but the budget constraints of the chase are quickly piling up and THX might get away for good.
Lucas worked hard to emphasize the dehumanizing world of his film. He insisted that all of the performers in his film shave their heads. A lot of the extras in the film were people from Synanon, an addiction recovery program based out of California. These people were used because their heads were already shaved. The emphasis works, as it becomes difficult to distinguish between characters sometimes and, worse, difficult to care. The problem with THX 1138 is that Lucas has created a world so devoid of emotion that it becomes impossible to generate much interest in anything but the visuals of the story.
The intentionally wooden performances and the long, odd cuts Lucas uses in direction make for an interesting film, but it doesn’t particularly make it a good one. A lot of the potential for solid development is lost in rather pretentious sequences that can be very alienating for the viewer. The plot is not overly complex, but with Lucas’s quick cuts and his inability to work with his actors, things become rather messy. The car chase sequence is impressive, but few other sequences contain anything of interest. It is a fairly bland effort.
THX 1138 is worth seeing by those interested in seeing the Star Wars creator’s first film, but it doesn’t serve any other purpose that I can discern. The Orwellian future has been done before and it has been given better treatment, although it’s clear that Lucas made a significant effort here. Unfortunately, effort alone doesn’t make up for poor writing and bland storytelling.
3/10
Trailer:
