'Paradise Hills' - Movie Review

Wikipedia lists this as a "science fiction fantasy thriller," and I was wondering how it could be both "science fiction" and "fantasy" at the same time. After having seen it ... I guess I get it. I could make some snarky comment about the ending being pure fantasy, but that's not what causes their assessment to be accurate. That has more to do with the final revelation about "The Duchess."

Emma Roberts is Uma, a young woman sent to a place called "Paradise Hills" where the lady of the house ("The Duchess," played by Milla Jovovich) is being paid an immense amount of money to re-educate a number of young women to better suit the requirements of their (rich) families. No explanation of the social structure is given, although we're told that all the women held in this gilded cage are "Uppers," and there are also people known as "Lowers" (I think ... I refuse to go back to check). But that's as much as the film feel they need to explain, and I suppose it's as much as is needed for their purposes.

The problem is that most of it, like the lack of explanation of the social order, is sloppily constructed. That includes the ridiculous Alice-in-Wonderland costumes, the poor acting, the weak script, and the ludicrous ending. If you want to see movies about rebellious people being farmed out to places that try to shape them ... there are many, many others, and some are definitely better than this.