What happened to Monday (Seven Sisters)

The most interesting thing about dystopian tales are that they allow us a glimpse of the what if’s.

What if the world’s environmental crisis gave birth to alternative means. What if it created such fear that the population allowed the government to not only intervene, but to create a department that went to such extremes it actually interfered with humanity as a whole. Most people familiar with history know that fear almost always leads to acceptable monsters, but in What Happened to Monday we are given a glimpse of the monsters victims. Netflix’s newest movie begins with soundbites from today’s news, allowing the premise to connect with the fears we hold already for our planet. Food shortages lead to chemically created food, which leads to birth defects, and worse, multiple births.

But then a solution is presented; what if we control the population by controlling the number of children people are allowed to have? One child per family, and any child after that will be confiscated and placed in hyper sleep until the earth heals; hence the Child Allocation Bureau is created, or CAB. Glenn Close plays a convincing concerned politician as Nicolette Cayman, the head of the Bureau, making the idea sound tempting until we are introduced to the Settman Siblings.

7 of a kind, identical in everything but personality, which Noomi Rapace places as well as can be expected when one is playing 7 different sisters. Each named after a day of the week by their grandfather Terrance Settman (an anxious Willem Dafoe) and raised to hide their secret for fear of hyper sleep. The girls are taught to mirror each other in every way, all living simultaneously as Karen Settman each day of the week. That is until Monday doesn't come home from her day.

What happened to Monday is a great premise, one grown of current fears and ideals. The story’s political arc allows us to see how far reaching government loses its humanity in its drive to succeed, and the scars it causes in the very people they are meant to protect. The seven siblings are meant to be the human drive to live, despite chaos created by the most evolved creature on earth, but the stories small questions sometimes bring us out of the story. Like why did they not know Saturday was drunk if they share their entire day every night? Or how can Monday have a lover? Or what made me wonder the most is how she has an accent in such a sheltered world?

The movie wants us to believe that the Settman siblings have survived years by being detail oriented and careful, yet as the story progresses it makes you question if they knew each other at all. It also gave us early confirmation of the stories twist, making the last confrontation somewhat expected. I found myself a bit confused by the last scene (I’ll let you figure that last bit on your own) but I did like that it gave us an explanation for the plot twist.

All in all What Happened to Monday is an enjoyable what if. Not a mind bender or unexpected as far as dystopian tales go but enjoyable for a binge.

Seen on Netflix August 20 2017

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