Film

Equals

Name: Equals
Genre: Drama, Romance, Science Fiction
Released: 2015
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Kristen Stewart, Jacki Weaver, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hazlewood

A subdued sci-fi romance set in a sterile future where emotions are medicated away. Two people begin feeling despite everything society demands, and their connection becomes dangerous. It's contemplative and slow, trading spectacle for intimate unease. For viewers drawn to quiet science fiction about the cost of control.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like slow, muted science fiction where the big idea stays under the skin, and where two actors carry feeling through restraint rather than speeches.

Skip it if you need the sci-fi premise pushed hard, because the film keeps its world sketchy and lingers on quiet longing at a deliberately unhurried pace.

What it asks of you: Plan on 102 minutes of hush, with long held silences and small gestures doing the work that dialogue would do elsewhere.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Her2013

A fragile love story between a man and an AI that asks what connection means when one party can't truly reciprocate. Spike Jonze captures loneliness and longing with the same ache that drives Equals.

But The premise sounds gimmicky, and the resolution may feel emotionally incomplete rather than satisfying.

Blade Runner 20492017

Visually stunning sci-fi that prioritises mood and philosophical questions over plot momentum. Like Equals, it's meditative, beautiful, and interested in what makes us human rather than in thrills.

But Nearly three hours of deliberately paced contemplation. If you need incident and conflict to stay engaged, this will feel like watching paint dry.

Arrival2016

A sci-fi film about communication and connection that trusts the viewer to sit with ambiguity. Denis Villeneuve builds dread and wonder together, much as Drake Doremus does with isolation and intimacy.

But The central concept is the entire film. Once you understand it, there's less to discover on repeat viewings.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Equals

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Synecdoche, New York2008

Both explore how artificial worlds shape human connection: Equals shows what happens when emotion is suppressed by system, Synecdoche shows what happens when it's amplified into obsession and simulation.

Charlie Kaufman's baroque fever dream about a theatre director building an artificial world inside a warehouse, losing himself in the architecture of emotion and meaning. Like Equals, it's about feeling in a constructed environment—but told through maximalist chaos instead of minimalist control.

But Dizzyingly complex, sometimes self-indulgent, and deliberately confusing. Three hours that demand attention and reward it unevenly.

Never Let Me Go2010

Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield navigate a world that dehumanises them, finding moments of tenderness in a cruel system. The restraint and sadness perfectly match Equals' emotional register.

But It's bleak and deliberately paced. The science fiction element feels like a metaphor rather than a fully realised world, which frustrates some viewers.

Under the Skin2014

Scarlett Johansson in an alien-invasion film that abandons conventional narrative for atmosphere, dread, and visual storytelling. Slow, strange, hypnotic—utterly committed to mood over plot.

But Virtually no dialogue, little explanation, and an ending that will leave you confused or angry. It demands a specific patience.

The Giver2014

Another adaptation about a colour-drained world where emotion and choice are forbidden. Jeff Bridges and Brenton Thwaites explore awakening to a forbidden inner life, echoing Equals' central tension.

But The source material is simpler than Equals aims to be, and the film sometimes feels like YA by obligation rather than design.

Ex Machina2015

A tight, cerebral thriller about artificial consciousness and what we owe to beings we create. Like Equals, it's about connection and control, but darker and more paranoid.

But Much more plot-driven than Equals, with twists that some find clever and others find manipulative. Tonally it's colder.

Annihilation2018

Slow-burn sci-fi about a woman entering a mysterious zone, shot through with dread and visual beauty. The emotional weight builds gradually, much like Equals' quiet intensity.

But The final act becomes more abstract and less grounded. The ending divides viewers sharply on whether it's profound or unsatisfying.

Upstream Color2013

Shane Carruth's experimental romance about two people whose identities have been compromised and who find each other anyway. Formally bold, deeply strange, and unexpectedly moving.

But Deliberately obscure and fragmented. The plot barely exists. If you need coherence and clarity, this will infuriate you.

Stalker1979

Both are restrained sci-fi films about the interior life—what we want, what we're allowed to want, and what happens when those collide. Stalker moves through space; Equals through emotion.

Tarkovsky's monumental Soviet sci-fi follows three men through a mysterious zone toward a room that grants wishes. Hypnotic, philosophical, and utterly committed to slowness as a vehicle for existential inquiry. The ultimate meditation on desire and control.

But 163 minutes of deliberate pacing in Russian cinema's most challenging register. Long takes, philosophical monologues, minimal plot. Not background viewing.

The Lobster2015

Both depict totalitarian futures that police human connection, but Lanthimos attacks the premise with dark comedy where Doremus approaches it with lyrical sadness. Same cage, different genre.

Yorgos Lanthimos's blackly comic dystopia where single people are given 45 days to find a mate or be turned into animals. It's a world of absurd social control made nightmarish—yet somehow funny. The same year as Equals but from an entirely different planet.

But Deadpan and surreal to the point of alienation. If you need warmth or conventional emotion, this will feel hostile. The humour is very specific.