‘Free Your Mind’ review: Danny Boyle delivers an explosive dance adaptation of ‘The Matrix’
Released in response to the changing technological climate, the Wachowski sisters’ seminal dystopian sci-fi flick The Matrix was less of a warning for what the future might hold and more of a philosophical conversation about our relationship with the digital lives that bind us. This conversation has been furthered by none other than British filmmaker Danny Boyle, who opened his new immersive performance, Free Your Mind, based on the film series, at Manchester’s new cultural venue, Aviva Studios.
A dramatic reimagining of the movie that brings together 50 professional dancers, Free Your Mind channels all the best parts of The Matrix, even remarkably delving into the world of the animated Animatrix movie that explored just how the machines ended up making battery farms out of human energy. Neo, the Christ-like saviour of humanity, is here, and so is the sagacious Morpheus, but just don’t come expecting to see Keanu Reeves or Laurence Fishburne.
Adding to the allure and mystery of The Matrix universe, instead of copying the 1999 movie beat-for-beat, undoubtedly making a lame rip-off in the process. Instead, Boyle sets out to update the material, incorporating aspects that have only come to life after the release of the film.
Indeed, as a high-flying, leather-touted stylish action flick, The Matrix is a sci-fi masterpiece, but it was only when the director Lily Wachowski announced back in 2020 that the film was a transgender allegory that the film truly evolved into something powerful entirely. In a modern world that encourages individuality and a defiant stance against damaging social forces, The Matrix has come to represent the psychological division from one person to the next, with the choice between the ‘red pill’ and the ‘blue pill’, which represents a choice between ignorance or revolution, becoming something of an internet meme at this point.
In the show, the red and blue pill imagery is loosely applied at the interval, with one-half of the audience going to a separate part of the studio from the other, only to see the same thing on opposite ends of a catwalk-like stage. Yet, truthfully, a third choice would have been preferable: the choice to return to the stupendous theatricality of the first half and set both halves in the same space.
Incorporating the bold identity of Manchester as a city, as well as the very best iconography of The Matrix, the first act of Boyle’s extravaganza is exactly that, with dancers putting together a mind-boggling array of progressive performances that explore the back-breaking bodily charm of the movies. Perhaps the greatest of such moments comes when strands of vein-like white material dangle from the ceiling, and dancers use the restricted inner space to put together a haunting sequence, subtly referencing the sexuality subtext of the films.
If you weren’t on your feet with applause during the first half, you would be in the second, with the performance forcing you to a different location without seating at all. It’s certainly immersive, with the extras of the show particularly dedicating themselves to the authenticity of the production, but it doesn’t feel all that necessary, ruining the harmony of the show, which up to that point had been jaw-dropping.
Such isn’t to say that the second act was poor, moreso it was unable to match the sheer energy of the first, being more erratic and on the nose in its tackling of modern social media companies that keep us locked in our minds, much like the pods that imprison humanity in The Matrix.
At its best, Free Your Mind is a transporting and genuinely explosive experience to behold, acting as the perfect opening show for Aviva Studios, showing off the very best of the space with interactive and experimental elements. With electrifying performances across the board, Boyle’s adaptation takes the slick style of the Wachowski’s movie and adds a strong dose of bold Mancunian charm.
