Mute
A mute bartender hunts for his vanished lover through a fractured near-future Berlin where surgeons, gangsters, and technology conceal the truth.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- brooding
- paranoid
- neon-lit
- late night viewing
- cyberpunk double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film visually polished but narratively derivative, muddled, and unable to realize its ambitious science-fiction noir world.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The story presents Berlin as a crowded near-future city shaped by immigration, technology, and an underworld divided between East and West.
Leo Beiler is mute, forcing his search for the missing Naadirah to rely on observation, writing, gesture, and physical persistence.
The odd American surgeons Cactus Bill and Duck Teddington connect Leo's investigation to the city's criminal and exploitative underside.
The film combines science-fiction technology and dense metropolitan spectacle with prostitution, gangsters, and bleak underworld spaces.
Films like Mute, and why
Blade Runner
shared cyberpunk setting, detective mystery, neon-lit atmosphere, and technologically altered urban underworld
Blade Runner 2049
shared futuristic noir investigation, fragmented criminal networks, and paranoid science fiction mood
Dark City
shared cyberpunk world-building, crime thriller structure, and morally compromised urban characters
Movie Details
- Director
- Duncan Jones
- Release Date
- 2018-02-23
- Runtime
- 126 min
- Rating
- 5.6 / 10 (1178)
Cast
- Alexander Skarsgård
- Paul Rudd
- Justin Theroux
- Seyneb Saleh
- Robert Sheehan
- Jannis Niewöhner
- Noel Clarke
- Dominic Monaghan
- Sam Rockwell
- Florence Kasumba
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Mute about?
- A mute bartender hunts for his vanished lover through a fractured near-future Berlin where surgeons, gangsters, and technology conceal the truth.
- What is Mute like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Mute as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Mute violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Mute as brutal.
- What did critics think of Mute?
- Critics broadly found the film visually polished but narratively derivative, muddled, and unable to realize its ambitious science-fiction noir world.
- Which films are like Mute?
- Films with a similar feel include Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, and Dark City.
- How long is Mute?
- Mute runs 126 minutes.
- Where can I watch Mute?
- In United States, Mute streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
