Directed by: Richard Fleischer

Released: April 1973

Cast: Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors, Brock Peters, Paula Kelly, Joseph Cotton, Edward G. Robinson as Solomon Roth.

As we sit here, in 2024, society is in rough shape. The gap between the wealthy and poor is ever increasing, homelessness is at an all-time high, governments and politicians are more interested in their own personal gain over the need of the people they were elected to serve, the gap between government and big business is blurring, the planets climate is changing to a point it might not be able to recover, and people are just not being as nice to each other as they used to. But that’s nothing compared to what was going on a couple of years ago, in 2022.

Earths population had exploded, the population of New York City alone was 40 million. People weren’t being very nice to one another, the climate crisis was beyond humans’ ability to stop, perpetually in a state of a heat wave, oceans were dying, and food supplies depleted. The gap between big business and government was blurring, politicians and governments were more interested in their own personal gain over the needs of the people, resorting to drastic measures for survival, providing there was profit. Homelessness is the majority of the population’s way of life, coupled with starvation. The gap between the poor and wealthy was so great that there was no longer a middle class, just a wall.

So, it’s understandable when the NYPD investigates the murder of one of the world’s wealthiest men (Joseph Cotton), the lone investigating detective, Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston) openly takes food and other luxuries, like soap, towels, brandy, while he questions and investigates at the victim’s apartment. 2022 was rough.

What’s nice about Soylent Green is the viewer is just plopped into the story and environment with little or no explanation as to how this society works. We learn as we go, kind of like life itself. Detective Thorn is our guide as even he is learning and piecing things together for the first time. Unfortunately, life in 2022 sucks.

Every city is a bleak nightmare of overcrowding and starvation. Only a select few have their own apartment, but they have to provide their own electricity, via batteries that have to be manually recharged. Meals are food supplements provided by the Soylent Corperation, makers of Soylent Red, Yellow, and Green. Food is distributed on specific days, Tuesday is Soylent Green Day, and if there is a supply shortage, usually a riot ensues, and the police move in and the rioters are literally scooped up into garbage trucks. We never find out where they are taken, it certainly isn’t central booking, and we’re not asking. Life is valueless.

Thorn lives with Sol Roth (Edward G. Robinson), who is a police researcher, known as ‘books’, and it’s Sol’s task to take Thorn’s evidence and piece together a case. What separates Thorn and Sol is, Sol remembers what the world used to be like. A world that Thorn cannot comprehend.

With the help of a group of ‘books’, known as the Supreme Exchange, Sol is able to uncover a horrifying conspiracy. However, Sol has had enough of this world, and leaves the job of exposing the government’s secret to Thorn. This leads to one of science fictions most memorable endings.

The mystery of Soylent Green is by now well known, but I’m not going to spoil it here. I have to say, Edward G. Robinson and Charlton Heston’s scenes together make the film, even knowing the film’s secret does not diminish watching their performances. Both are cynical for different reasons, they cohabitate like a father/son, love/hate relationship that is deep and ultimately heartbreaking. This was Robinson’s final film, and he is incredible to watch.

There is a lot more going on in Soylent Green, but for me it’s the Sol/Thorn relationship and the world building that I appreciate the most about the movie. With the passage of years, and with multiple viewings, Soylent Green becomes far more relevant as time passes. As Sol observes early in the film, “How did we come to this?”. Valid question. There is an answer, but it’s incomprehensibly complicated. Maybe we can look to Logan’s Run for a solution.

Soylent Green is available on DVD and Blu Ray from Warner Hone Video.