A Peek Inside the City of Ember

October 10, 2008 is the official showing date of the much awaited film adaptation of the novel, City of Ember, by Jeanne Duprau. It stars Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway and Martin Landau. The film is directed by Gil Kenan of the Academy award-winning animation, Monster House, and produced by Playtone's Gary Goetzman and Tom Hanks. The script for the film was written by Caroline Thompson.

This Fox Walden film centers on the people of the City of Ember, a glittering city of lights--underground. Powered by a generator, the underground city was intended to serve as a sanctuary for humanity. But there's a catch---the massive generator can only sustain the city for 200 years.

The city is at the verge of destruction as the magnificent lights begin to fade and darkness slowly envelops Ember. Now, the future of the city lies in the hands of the young graduating students and the role they play in their society might just save their beloved underground home.

As a rite of passage, the graduating students of Ember chose, by lottery, how they will spend their entire life as part of the working society. Lina (Saoirse Ronan), praying to be assigned as a messenger, unfortunately picks her most abhorred assignment at the Pipeworks. On the other hand, her classmate, Doon (Harry Treadaway), wants nothing but to work in the Generator, is assigned as a messenger. Since the Pipework is close enough to the Generator, Doon swapped responsibilities with Lina.

While cleaning their closet at home, Lina finds a metal box and tries to open it. She manages to jimmy the lock open and seeks the help of Doon to decipher the cryptic message inside the mysterious box. As blackouts in the city become more frequent, Lina and Doon realize that the information inside that box could lead to the salvation of their city and their fellow citizens.

Thus, an unlikely friendship is born between the two that lead to a discovery of what their city is all about. Upon finding out that Ember is on its last thread, they are thrown into an intricate roller coaster ride to solve the puzzling mystery to save their city.

The movie is already creating some buzz among book circles and the curious moviegoers alike. With its strongly woven plot and substantial content, City of Ember is definitely a movie to watch out for this season.