The Platform was very unique for a lot of reasons. Before you watch it yourself, here is a fun pro-tip: Turn on subtitles. This is a foreign film meaning it’s already dubbed over. The subtitles will read differently than what is being said which is already very different from trying to read their lips. This will be equal parts distracting but entertaining. This is also how all movies should be made. Maybe I should dub over this Platform Movie Review…
Obviously, the basic premise of this movie is The Platform is like a pseudo prison system designed to punish and correct bad behaviour. Or a fun way to score a diploma. This is obviously achieved by serving people with delightful platters of food delicately crafted by master chefs. The food is served on a platform that travels down to hundreds of different levels stopping for a few moments on each. The residents living on each floor have to quickly eat as much as they can before it is then dropped to the next level. Obviously, you can only eat what is in front of you for the duration it is there. You cannot save any for later. If you do try to keep any food, the facility will crank up the heat or freeze you. Don’t question this.
This is obviously fine and dandy for those on the first few floors. Once you get to the lower levels, there is very little food remaining. Being on floor one is great. Obviously. You have your choice of any food you want which is immaculately served. Being on floor 200 is not so great. You can see the bones from ambiguous meat, broken glasses of presumed wine, and empty plates completely licked clean. Dig in. This is obviously where the twist comes into play!
You’re probably wondering why I keep saying ‘obviously’. If you’ve seen the movie you will understand why this is comedic gold. If you have not seen the movie, it’s because that’s the preferred word of the old man. Okay, fine, it’s not really that funny. Obviously.
Anyway, so the twist: you are only on the same floor for 1 month at a time. If you survive the month, you and your cellmate (should they survive) are randomly moved to another level. This means you could be suffering on floor 150 where there is very little food (if any at all) but then moved to the fifth floor where you can eat almost anything you want. They put the prisoners to sleep with a mysterious gas but they really don’t explain how that part of it works or how they are moved. This is a fun mystery you should definitely avoid thinking about. Like so many parts of this movie, just don’t question it.
So the main character bounces around from floor-to-floor. He meets some people, has some scary encounters, falls in love, and discovers the art of cannibalism. The usual prison story. He eventually befriends a guy who is so desperate to escape from prison he is willing to ride the platform for what could be minutes or days. Together, they eventually make their way down to the lowest level where they discover something I cannot say because it’s a spoiler. So once they find the child down there (oops) they determine the child is more important than a piece of dessert they’ve been saving. The movie pretty much ends at this point. This clearly answers all of your questions and concerns about the plot.
The Platform Movie Review Final Thoughts
Much like this The Platform Movie Review, the movie itself was pretty decent. Wasn’t super great, but wasn’t an abomination either. Sort of right in the middle, you know? Whether you agree or disagree with my assessment, let me know! Either comment on the Facebook page, leave a comment on this post or send me a personal message. You know the drill.