2081 is a 2009 science fiction

Science fiction film

Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...

 short film, which premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival

Seattle International Film Festival

The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...

 on May 29, 2009. It is directed and written by Chandler Tuttle. It is based on the short story "Harrison Bergeron

Harrison Bergeron

"Harrison Bergeron" is a satirical, dystopian science fiction short story written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and first published in October 1961. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the story was re-published in the author's collection Welcome to the Monkey House in...

" by author Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...

 and stars James Cosmo

James Cosmo

James Cosmo is a prolific Scottish actor, with numerous credits in film and television since the late 1960s and Cosmo is still currently acting. Cosmo was born in Clydebank, Scotland, the son of actor James Copeland...

, Julie Hagerty

Julie Hagerty

Julie Hagerty is an American actress and former model.-Early life:Hagerty was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Harriet Yuellig, a model and singer, and Jerry Hagerty, a musician. Her brother Michael Hagerty was also an actor. Her parents later divorced. Hagerty attended Indian Hill High...

, and Armie Hammer

Armie Hammer

Armand Douglas "Armie" Hammer is an American actor. After appearing on television and playing the title role in 2008's Billy: The Early Years, he became known for his portrayal of the Winklevoss twins in the 2010 film The Social Network, and Clyde Tolson in J. Edgar...

 with narration by Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson

Patricia Clarkson

Patricia Davies Clarkson is an American actress. After studying drama on the East Coast, Clarkson launched her acting career in 1985, and has worked steadily in both film and television. She twice won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in Six Feet Under...

 and an original score

Soundtrack

A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

 by Lee Brooks

Lee Brooks

Lee Raymond Brooks is a composer and sound designer for film.-Biography:Lee Brooks is a composer for stage, film and television...

 performed by the Kronos Quartet

Kronos Quartet

Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...

 and Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra.

Premise

The following plot summary for the film was released on the film's website.

Cast

• Tammy Bruce
  Tammy Bruce
  Tammy Bruce is an American radio host, author, and political commentator. Her nationally-syndicated talk show, The Tammy Bruce Show, airs live weekdays from 11am-1pm Pacific time online via ....
  
   as the United States Handicapper General
• Patricia Clarkson
  Patricia Clarkson
  Patricia Davies Clarkson is an American actress. After studying drama on the East Coast, Clarkson launched her acting career in 1985, and has worked steadily in both film and television. She twice won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in Six Feet Under...
  
   as the narrator
• James Cosmo
  James Cosmo
  James Cosmo is a prolific Scottish actor, with numerous credits in film and television since the late 1960s and Cosmo is still currently acting. Cosmo was born in Clydebank, Scotland, the son of actor James Copeland...
  
   as George Bergeron, Harrison's father. George's intelligence is way above normal, so he is forced to wear a handicap radio in his ear that sends out a sharp noise every twenty seconds or so, to prevent George from taking unfair advantage of his brain.
• Julie Hagerty
  Julie Hagerty
  Julie Hagerty is an American actress and former model.-Early life:Hagerty was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Harriet Yuellig, a model and singer, and Jerry Hagerty, a musician. Her brother Michael Hagerty was also an actor. Her parents later divorced. Hagerty attended Indian Hill High...
  
   as Hazel Bergeron, Harrison's mother. Hazel's intelligence is perfectly average without handicaps; she cannot think of anything except in short bursts.
• Armie Hammer
  Armie Hammer
  Armand Douglas "Armie" Hammer is an American actor. After appearing on television and playing the title role in 2008's Billy: The Early Years, he became known for his portrayal of the Winklevoss twins in the 2010 film The Social Network, and Clyde Tolson in J. Edgar...
  
   as Harrison Bergeron. A genius and a fantastic athlete, Harrison has received both the heaviest physical handicaps and the most distracting mental handicaps of any citizen. In Vonnegut's story, he is 14 years old; in the movie he's 20 years old at the time of his escape.

Release

2081 premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival

Seattle International Film Festival

The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...

 in May 2009. The film was released on DVD on January 25, 2010.

Reviews

The sci-fi block's Robert Ring described the film as "An amazing twenty-six minutes... not a single step is out of place... It would seem natural to call this film an Orwellian warning, but it is more accurately a portrayal of the necessity of embracing individuality – even, perhaps, if that individuality is abject... This is a great film, simply put."

Revolution Science Fiction magazine, which described the film as "stirring and dramatic" writes that the short "gets right to the point, and nails the adaptation."

Alexander S. Peak calls the movie "a simply-breathtaking libertarian

Libertarianism

Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...

short film" and the music "wonderfully haunting." Of James Cosmo’s performance, hw writes, "George [Bergeron] does not have much to say in the film, yet his acting, his expression of emotion, stands out as positively superb. Even if the movie were not amazing in its own right, it would be worth watching just for Cosmo’s performance."

The movie blog Filmonic compares the film to Children of Men.