What Happened To Monday (2017) | Sci-Fi Saturdays

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Some people might not have a problem with a missing Monday.

At first, What Happened to Monday seems like a straightforward dystopian sci-fi thriller about individuals fighting for their basic rights. But the film takes some interesting twists and turns along the way as lies are exposed and allegiances change.

First Impressions

The trailer shows a near-future dystopia in which overpopulation is rampant, limiting families to one child. When a crackdown begins by the government, one father instructs his seven children that they will only be able to leave the house on the day they are named after, each taking on the guise of a singular citizen. When one of them is abducted by the police, the others do what is necessary to bring her back home. What Happened to Monday?

Presented below is the trailer for the film.

The Fiction of The Film

Due to a constantly expanding global population, scientists create genetically modified food to provide enough food for the world. This leads to genetic disorders and an excess of multiple births. Dr. Nicolette Cayman (Glenn Close) helps to create the Child Allocation Act, a law that forbids families from having more than one child apiece. Any siblings are taken into custody and put into cryosleep until a “better future” can be found. During childbirth, Karen, the daughter of Terrence Settman (Willem Dafoe), dies, leaving seven identical babies. Terrence names them after the days of the week and raises them on his own, instigating a plan to keep them from being discovered. Each girl (Clara Read) can be themselves within the apartment, but on the day of the week belonging to their namesake, each can go outside, all living the life of “Karen Settman.”

Thursday is the first daughter who experiences the world. Each evening, the group has a meeting to share the events of the day so they can keep up the fiction of just one Karen. Later, on some other day, Thursday sneaks out to skateboard and gets into an accident, losing the tip of her left index finger. Terrence chastises her and gathers the other six, having to cut the tips of their fingers off, beginning with Monday. Thirty years later, Terrence has passed away, and the girls (Noomi Rapace), having succeeded without being discovered, have fallen into a rhythm, creating Karen Settman, who is due for a promotion at the bank where she works. Monday goes to work, where she has a brief interaction with a Child Allocation Bureau security guard, named Adrian (Marwan Kenzari), at the checkpoint. On her way up the elevator, her coworker Jerry (Pål Sverre Hagen) says, “he’s on to her.” That night, Monday never returns home.

Tuesday goes about her routine as normal, trying to discover where her sister may have gone. Checking out a lead at the bar that Monday went to, Tuesday is taken by CAB agents, led by Joe (Christian Rubeck), and brought before Dr. Cayman, who says that she knows they are all sisters. The CAB agents are sent to capture or kill the remaining sisters using Tuesday’s eyeball to circumvent the security system on the apartment. The girls are prepared for this eventuality and manage to kill the three agents sent for them, however Sunday is killed in the process. Cayman explains to Joe that she cannot afford to have word of the Settman siblings leak out and puts him on the case. Wednesday goes out as herself, without the “Karen” disguise, stopping off to see Jerry. He says he knows all about the funds transfer Karen made to Cayman’s campaign fund. Wednesday is confused, but before she can get clarification, Jerry is killed by a CAB sniper.

Wednesday manages to escape from the CAB agents surrounding Jerry’s building, but is killed by Joe as she jumps between two rooftops. During all this chaos, Friday runs tech support back at the apartment, providing updates to Wednesday by radio. A knock at their door reveals Adrian outside. The girls are shocked, but when Saturday answers the door, Adrian seems to recognize her. She goes back to Adrian’s apartment with him to get more details and to potentially access the CAB database with the help of a coupling device that Friday has provided. Saturday, who, for all her big talk about her sexual exploits, is still a virgin, has sex with Adrian and manages to connect her security bracelet to his–giving Friday access to the CAB servers. Saturday learns that Adrian was seeing Monday without any of them knowing, and transmits information back to Thursday and Friday.

Adrian heads to work, and Saturday makes a video call to her sisters just as CAB agents break into Adrian’s apartment and execute her. At the same time, more agents, led by Joe, assault the Settman apartment. Thursday escapes and is distraught when Friday stays behind to blow up the room, killing many CAB agents. She did manage to remotely download the archives of the Settman family into Thursday’s bracelet. Adrian arrives outside the building and freaks out seeing “Karen’s” dead body. Thursday surprises him in his van, explaining that his Karen is still alive, and they sneak into the CAB building pretending Thursday is a corpse. In the intake area, Thursday sees a young sibling being put through the cryosleep process. It is revealed that it’s a furnace, and the girl is incinerated. Adrian and Thursday find Tuesday in a holding cell, missing an eye. They escape, and Thursday heads to see Cayman, while Adrian and Tuesday hack into the servers.

At the gala party for Cayman’s election fundraiser, Thursday is confronted by a still-alive Monday in the bathroom. Monday illegally transferred money to Cayman’s account and told her about her sisters in exchange for immunity, and a chance for Cayman to alter the laws. They fight, and Thursday accidentally shoots Monday, who reveals that she is pregnant with Adrian’s twins. Tuesday releases a video of the girl being incinerated during Cayman’s speech, exposing her lie about the cryosleep process. Thursday is exposed by Cayman just as a bloody Monday enters the room. Joe shoots Monday, Adrian shoots Joe, and Cayman is disgraced. The Child Allocation Act is repealed, and Tuesday (complete with a new eyeball), along with Thursday, watch Monday’s unborn twins in an artificial womb. Adrian joins them, calling Tuesday by her new name, Terry. Thursday says she now wishes to be known as Karen.

“What happens to one of you, happens to you all.” – Terrence Settman

History in the Making

Most American audiences may be unfamiliar with the sci-fi film What Happened to Monday due to its lack of theatrical release stateside. If they have heard of it, it’s due to the film being released and promoted on Netflix. And that is an unfortunate disservice, because there are many elements of the film that are completely worthwhile of a watch, especially Noomi Rapace’s performance as seven identical sisters. A performance that might not have happened if the script had proceeded as written with a cast of identical brothers. Director Tommy Wirkola, a Norwegian filmmaker, opted to change the sex of the lead character from Kevin to Karen Settman for the better. This is Wirkola’s first science-fiction film, being known for the horror and fantasy films Dead Snow (and its sequel) and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. He would go on to make Violent Night, and its sequel, an action film starring David Harbour as Santa Claus. He effortlessly handles building a dystopian world, multiple action moments, and the complicated task of filming one actress performing as seven characters in a single scene.

At first blush, the title of the film, What Happened to Monday, appears to be a question. It’s asking something about the day of the week or the whereabouts of a character named Monday. And this is how the film begins as well. It’s an investigation into the disappearance of one of the seven sisters. But as the film progresses, the question morphs from being about the whereabouts of Monday to a more philosophical question about her motivations. What has happened to her that caused her to change so drastically? Monday, once a staunch supporter of the family and their goal to stay hidden, suddenly chooses to abandon the plan and jeopardize the lives of her sisters, of whom four are killed. The title is also a declarative statement about what happened to Monday. And what did happen to her? She was the first one to feel the pain that her sister’s choice inflicted (having her finger amputated). She also fell in love and got pregnant. These things happened to Monday, which changed her perspective on family and responsibility. It’s a beautifully simple, yet deceptive, title for the film that works in many nuanced ways as the story unfolds.

Genre-fication

Dystopian films from the 21st Century exist in a more realistic state than those from the previous century. Thinking about popular dystopian films from the 1970s, 80s, or 90s, they all have a heightened level of fantasy about them as they rely on metaphor and sometimes satire to make their point. Soylent Green, The Running Man, Brazil, and Demolition Man tell dystopian tales of a near future with horrible conditions. Food shortages cause society to resort to cannibalism. Ultra-violent television programs help to appease the masses, serving also as a penal system for criminals of the state. The soul-crushing bureaucracy of the world crushes dreams of individuality. Taco Bell becomes the epitome of fine dining. Each film tells of a real social plight, but wrapped in a blanket of hyper-reality–even if some of these worlds have come closer to our reality than many would prefer. Modern dystopian films are firmly set in our reality, reflecting the real-life pain and struggle of individuals. Oftentimes, the best plots are lifted solidly from the evening news and only require the slightest of tweaking to make them seem plausible. Idiocracy, while ludicrous at the time, has become more prescient as the years wear on. Children of Men and Snowpiercer present microcosms of modern society, and were two films that definitely influenced the look and storytelling of What Happened to Monday.

As with every good dystopia, government overreach into the lives of everyday citizens is rampant in this film. Population growth is in serious need of being hampered, but unlike Z.P.G., which is about preventing pregnancy (and only allowing some births), What Happened to Monday is about culling families with more than one child. It’s not a simple parable about preventing secondary births, because in his world, multiple births have become the norm. The government is instead cracking down on the siblings in a particular family, stealing the children away to the cryobanks, just as immigrant children today are being taken from their families. The real-world implications of the story are present in the world outside our windows as the government addresses the symptoms of the problem, rather than the problem itself. The film also takes cues from techno-action thrillers like Blade Runner. What Happened to Monday begins as a mystery, as the sisters try to ascertain what happened to Monday. It morphs into an intense thriller about survival and fighting back. Eventually, the answer is uncovered, which blows the lid off of many secrets that individuals would prefer remain private and changes the course of the world, possibly for the better. I can’t help but also think about Orphan Black while watching this film. Not necessarily for any of the plot elements, but due to Noomi Rapace having to play multiple versions of an identical character, not unlike Tatiana Maslany’s work in that show.

Societal Commentary

Remember when the truth could be broadcast and people would suddenly understand the danger or ineptitude of their elected leaders? That’s what happens in What Happened to Monday as part of the quick wrap-up. The lies of Cayman are exposed, and suddenly the world course-corrects and changes. If only people in the real world would wake up to their elected leaders leading their country astray. The lies and overreach by the government are only the backdrop for the true themes of the film, which include the importance of family and how our actions affect others. When Terrence’s daughter dies in childbirth, leaving him with seven babies to take care of, he doesn’t give a second thought to taking care of them. He goes out of his way to create a safe space and a plan for the girls, hiding them from the authorities who may be searching for them. He imparts to them the knowledge that only by acting together will they be able to survive in this world. Each of them must live a portion of one life, the fictional Karen Settman. Each of the girls plays their part, taking care of their duties on their assigned day, keeping up the appearance of Karen Settman. This is after they learned the second most important lesson about their lives together: what happens to one of them happens to all of them. Thursday, always the rebellious one, gets into an accident after sneaking out and loses part of her finger. Unable to continue their ruse with one of them looking physically different from the others, Terrence takes it upon himself to amputate the other six girls’ fingers, starting with Monday (shades of The Prestige). When she asks if it will hurt, he pauses and tells her the truth: yes. It was at this point that Monday’s resentment of her sisters began. She realized that not only did they hold great power over her, but she could hold power over them.

The real breaking point for Monday was not any resentment towards her siblings. She was following the number one rule instilled in her by their grandfather, family comes first. Becoming pregnant, with twins, Monday saw no proper solution than to make a deal with Cayman so that the Child Allocation Act could be repealed. Imagine if Monday were allowed to continue with her pregnancy. She would begin showing, and either needs to become Karen full-time or not at all. It was a highly selfish act, but one driven by the other theme of the film, never getting to be your true self. Each of the seven sisters has a different personality, wonderfully portrayed by Rapace. They have different styled hair (some with different colors), along with different personalities. Thursday is surly and rebellious. Sunday is pious and thoughtful. Friday is smart and introverted. But each girl has to hide these facets of themselves when they go out into the world. Each has to be Karen Settman or risk the apprehension of them all. In the real world, it’s hard enough to present an authentic self to the world. For some people, they must live two lives due to the way they are perceived, whether that’s based on religion, creed, or sexual orientation. The biggest crime a society commits is forcing citizens to hide their true selves because the larger body doesn’t agree with the individual’s lifestyle.

The Science in The Fiction

The question that audiences may be asking while watching What Happened to Monday is in regard to the cryosleep process introduced in the opening montage of the film. The friendly and smiling talking head in the PSA calmly reminds citizens that yes, your children will be taken by the CAB, but they’ll be humanely put into cryosleep until we can solve a problem. If this is the case, and there’s technology to solve this problem, why not address the overpopulation or food shortage? The children are supposedly frozen so that they will not consume food, which is a precious resource. But that leads to questions of storage. If overpopulation is also an issue, how can there be enough space to store millions of children with all the power needed to keep them alive? Well, turns out that was all a lie, and none of those concerns are real, since the kids are actually incinerated. The reveal of this inhumane process highlights and refers back to Terrence’s statement to his granddaughters earlier. When Monday asked him if it would hurt (when he’s about to amputate her finger), he didn’t lie. He said, yes. In the cryosleep sequence, the young girl asks the tech if this will hurt. The tech lies and says it will not, showing the difference in philosophies. Terrence could have easily fibbed and said that cutting off a finger wouldn’t hurt, especially since he provided an anesthetic shot beforehand. But he chose to reveal the hard truth to his girls, that life is pain. The tech, who is performing an action that will very much hurt, lies in order to comfort the scared girl. The lie is probably also for the tech’s benefit. It allows her to do her job, believing that it’s painless. At one point, Adrian even mentions that he believes the CAB is doing the kids a favor by “freezing” them. That way, they don’t have to live through the pain of slowly starving.

The rest of the film is made up of suitable near-future technology that audiences would expect in such a film. Some things are similar to technology that exists today, while other elements are beyond the current scope of science. The girls have a lot of technology at their disposal, which is not seen elsewhere. They use a smart mirror, which is more powerful than the current versions of the technology, that is able to compare their faces to that of the default Karen Settman. It highlights all the places where they need to apply makeup to remove the elements that are unique to them. They also utilize phone technology built into their hands, real palm pilots, so to speak. This, in conjunction with their government-issued wearable bracelet, allows them to communicate with each other and store files. The only previous film that has used built-in palm phones was the remake of Total Recall, five years before. The computer monitors that Friday uses are also more futuristic-looking. They are see-through or holographic in some fashion, which still seems like a poor design choice. Users probably recognize how difficult it is to see a screen when light is falling across it. Now imagine trying to read text while everything on the other side of the screen is also visible. It’s a cool futuristic look, but highly impractical.

The Final Frontier

For anyone on the fence about checking out What Happened to Monday, I’d say that Noomi Rapace knocks this out of the park. Her performance is the reason to watch the film. She’s immensely talented, and I’m interested in seeing some of her other work. Having only known her from her work on Ridley Scott’s Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, I was unaware of her work in the Swedish version of the Millennium series: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. The film is also a nice one for Willem DaFoe, playing a loving fatherly role, rather than his oftentimes creepy, villainous role. What Happened to Monday is a strong dystopian film with themes that resonate more in 2026 than they might have in 2017. It’s difficult to say if filmmakers are getting better at seeing what’s coming and predicting the future dystopias, or if the world is just falling apart so fast that it resembles the one seen in films. Of course, there’s a third choice. Perhaps leaders watch these types of films and think, “Hey, that’s a pretty good idea.” Let’s hope that is not actually the case.

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