Little Joe, made in English with BBC-backing by Austrian director Jessica Hausner, is a minor film to be in the main competition. Emily Beecham plays a plant-geneticist who has created a fluffy red flower that emits a scent that makes people happy, boosting their serotonin.
She gives one to her troubled teenage son, Joe — but an untested virus she has used enables the plant, Little Joe, to parasitise the brains of all who sniff its pollen, making them chipper zombies who are interested only in the plant’s survival — including her son and her closest colleague, Chris (Ben Whishaw).
An update of Invasion of the Body Snatchers? A satire on anti-depressant pill-popping? Sounds intriguing. But slow acting, mannered sets and stylized filming make this film itself sadly affectless.
