Soylent Green

Mrs. Blink and I rented Soylent Green last weekend.
Soylent-Green-Charlton-Heston

I never saw this movie when it came out in 1973, but it was amazing to see it now. First I was surprised at how well it stood the test of time, and second by how exciting it was. The screenplay is based on a novel published in 1966, Make Room, Make Room! by Harry Harrsion,


The movie stars Charlton Heston as Thom, a tough detective in New York in 2022. The world is showing the effects of overpopulation and environmental degradation, and major climate change. Thom is helped by his roommate Roth, an older man from our era who can still remember things like how to cook steak and who constantly complains about the time he is living in now. His part is played by Edward G. Robinson, in his last movie role.

Thom has to solve the murder of a board member of the Soylent Green Corporation, William R. Simonson (Joseph Cotton). Soylent Corporation, which seems to be responsible for everything in this future, supplies plankton-based food to the world. Solent food comes in different varieties and each day, a different color of Soylent is sold. Tuesdays are Soylent Green days which is the most popular. Vegetables are for the well off, and meat and eggs are hardly ever available. The land is covered with people and yes, even the plankton is running out. The bleak future is show to us in a lot of clever small ways. There are squatters who pay rent to live on the stairways of Thom’s apartment.

As he carries out his investigation, Thom first visits the apartment of Simonson, where he meets his live in mistress, Shirl (played by Leigh Taylor-Young), As Thom questions her about the night of the murder when she was out shopping with Simonson’s guard, he ransacks the place taking pillows and whatever food he can scrounge from the fridge. Simonson actually has a cut of beef in his refrigerator. Of course Thom comes back; he finds out that Shirl is considered part of the furniture and will go to the next man who rents the place. He starts by using Shirl as Simonson did, but he as he gets to know her, he starts to like and then feel sorry for her, as he sees how she is used despite her luxurious lifestyle. One of the prophetic moments comes when Shirl offers to turn the air condition on so that it “will be just as cold as it was when we had winters.” Creepy.

As Thom continues his investigation the murders start to go after him to keep him from finding the secret of the movie. Even though I had heard what it is, the way it is done was still very affecting and though it has become a cliché, it is still worth keeping as a surprise.

The movie has some fun dated aspects to it. The filmmakers didn’t predict cell phones and personal computers, which would have radically changed many parts of the film. Sexism is alive and well even though racism is gone. It is nicely done.

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The Blink gives it 4 out of 5 blinks.