“Soylent Green” is a 1973 movie from the director Richard Fleischer starring big names like Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors, Joseph Cotten, Brock Peters, Paula Kelly, and more. “Soylent Green” is set in a bleak and troubling future. While it may not be a full-fledged dystopia, it certainly borders on one. Due to overexploitation, global warming, and unchecked human greed, Earth’s natural food resources have been severely depleted. Power is scarce, clean water is rare, and the comforts and luxuries people once took for granted are now relics of the past.
The story takes place in New York City, which astonishingly holds a population of 40 million. With such overwhelming numbers, society is divided into two starkly contrasting classes: the wealthy elite and the struggling poor. The rich live in a heavily guarded, walled-off enclave, protected by high fences and armed guards authorized to shoot trespassers. Inside this privileged society, residents enjoy amenities and luxuries that the impoverished masses outside can only dream of.
While the people outside struggle to find even a drop of clean water, the wealthy residents within the walled enclave enjoy the luxury of running taps for hours without a second thought. The tenants of these exclusive apartments also indulge in rare commodities like alcohol, jam, and fresh fruits, items that have become incredibly scarce and nearly extinct in the outside world. For their entertainment and companionship, the tenants are also provided with beautiful women, derogatorily referred to as “furniture.” When one tenant moves out, a new one takes their place, and they can choose to keep the “furniture” or replace them with someone else.
While the elite enjoy a life of excess, the rest of the population is left to survive on processed food wafers produced by the Soylent Corporation. In addition to their standard offerings, Soylent Yellow and Soylent Red, the company has recently launched Soylent Green, which is marketed as being far more nutritious. As for living conditions, the majority of the population is homeless, forced to sleep on the streets or in their cars. Unemployment is widespread, and even those fortunate enough to have a job can barely afford cramped living spaces with no electricity or running water.
Soylent Green (1973) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Who is Robert Thorn? What is he investigating?
The film’s protagonist, Detective Thorn, lives in a cramped apartment with his close friend Sol Roth, a former scholar who helps him with research and casework. One unfortunate night, Thorn is called to investigate the death of a man named William R. Simonson, a tenant in one of the elite apartment complexes. The official report suggests it was a burglary gone wrong, but Thorn immediately suspects otherwise. He believes it was a calculated assassination, staged to look like a robbery to avoid triggering a full police investigation. Thorn also grows suspicious of Tab Fielding, Simonson’s bodyguard, suspecting he may have played a role in his employer’s murder.
Simonson was a high-ranking executive and board member of the Soylent Corporation. During the investigation, Thorn speaks to Shirl, Simonson’s assigned concubine. She reveals that in recent months, Simonson had changed. He had grown distant and depressed, no longer showing physical interest in her and frequently waking up in the middle of the night crying.
Shirl also recounts how Simonson had taken her to church and had private conversations with a priest. Thorn visits the priest whom Simonson had confided in, only to find the man deeply disturbed and emotionally shaken. The priest struggles to cope with the weight of Simonson’s confession, repeatedly saying that the truth he was told is eating away at him every day.
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Hatcher is approached by Donnovan. Donnovan offers him gifts and urges him to shut down the Simonson case immediately. While Hatcher is willing to comply, Thorn refuses to let the investigation stop. When Donnovan informs the Governor of Thorn’s plans, he is told to do whatever is necessary to prevent the case from moving forward. It’s revealed that Donovan is the one who hired the hitman to kill Simonson. Shortly after, Tab Fielding murders the priest to silence him, and there is also an assassination attempt on Thorn, but he survives.
Soylent Green (1973) Movie Ending Explained:
Who is Roth, and What Does he Find About Soylent Green?
Roth is Thorn’s trusted friend and partner, helping him throughout the investigation. In his prime, Roth was a college professor, but now he works as a police researcher, known in the force as a “Book.”. After obtaining two volumes of the Soylent Oceanographic Survey Report, Roth goes to meet with some of his former academic colleagues. Together, after thoroughly studying the reports, they come to the conclusion that the world’s oceans have died, and the plankton, once believed to be the main ingredient in Soylent Green, are extinct.
So, what is Soylent Green actually made of? Roth discovers that Soylent Green is made from human remains. When people die, their bodies are transported to Soylent factories, where they are processed and converted into the food wafers known as Soylent Green. Simonson had discovered this, and the knowledge tormented him. Fearing it might be exposed, the corporation had him assassinated to keep it buried.
When Roth learns about it, he is consumed with guilt, as he, too, like others, has consumed Soylent Green, thinking it to be processed food. Thus, he decides to go to an assisted suicide facility run by the government. Thorn tries to stop him, but it is too late. Before dying, Roth thanks him for coming, but soon becomes horrified and tells Thorn the truth about Soylent Green. He also asks Thorn to tell the world about it. Thorn follows the waste disposal truck carrying Roth’s body to a Soylent factory and learns that, indeed, Soylent Green is made from human bodies.
After learning the horrifying truth, Thorn, like Roth, is shaken to his core. When the Soylent Corporation employees discover his presence, a long chase ensues, eventually leading to a church where Thorn kills his assassin. However, he is mortally wounded in the struggle. Hatcher arrives at the scene, and Thorn begs him to go to the Exchange and reveal the truth that Soylent Green is made from people. Hatcher agrees and has Thorn taken to the hospital on a stretcher. As the film ends, Thorn, bloodied and broken, cries out one final time: “Soylent Green is people!”
