Released in 2018, The Darkest Minds is a science fiction film-based on Alexandra Bracken’s 2012 novel of the same name.
The movie is a dystopian science fiction thriller surrounding Ruby Daly, a sixteen-year-old kid with psionic abilities who in a world where any child with abilities is locked away, must fight for her freedom and those of the people she cares about.
This adaptation, like most YA novel adaptations touches the topic of teenagers or young adults beating the odds to save the world. It’s what the narrative has been for some time and with this one, it’s not that different. An unexplainable illness kills off more than half of the world’s kids and gives the survivors extraordinary abilities. Those survivors are placed into groups, depending on what they can do and are all locked away in government-controlled rehabilitation camps.
Green is safe. They’re not a threat, just extremely smart. They’re the intelligent ones. Blue can manipulate things around them (telekinesis), Yellow manipulates electricity, Red breathes fire and Orange has psionic abilities. Reds and Oranges are considered the most dangerous and if they’re not being used for war training, they’re being taken care of.
The film introduces new talent, but also gives comfort with already existing and promising actors. Amandla Stenberg plays the main character, Ruby Daly. She meets, not trusting at first, the camp doctor, Cate (Mandy Moore) helps her escape and soon she meets the kids she ventures dangerous paths with.
The Darkest Minds touches on subjects that may be sensitive to others in a way that makes it seem lackadaisical. Perhaps it’s not meant to be as thought consuming as you’d hope it to be. It’s for young adults, people who, despite the common thought of older folks, face rejection, discrimination and disappointment on a daily basis. It’s for people who fear judgement from people who fear what they do not understand.
The film encompasses real issues, in a not so real way. The twist and turn of fantasy and real life makes this film worth the watch.
