Synchronic
Dir. Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead / Dur. 96 mins / Country. USA
Festival Strand:- Cult
In A Nutshell:- Two paramedics find themselves drawn into a mystery surrounding a number of deaths related to a new designer drug.
The Good:- I enjoy a good independent sci fi film as much as I enjoy a good blockbuster sci fi film. The gulf between budgets for the two tends to mean that often independent sci fi is more conceptual and less effects driven. This film feels like a melding of the indie film sensibility, with more of an emphasis on character interaction, with a big budget Hollywood feel (albeit on a relatively low budget). The initial scenes create a suitably strange and creepy feel detailing the effects that this drug is having on people and are shot with a real sense of style. Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie have an engaging chemistry, crafting a believable friendship between the main characters. When the inevitable exposition does arrive, it’s handled with wit and style and no small amount of emotion. The ending is also satisfying and bucks against the more downbeat trend that you tend to get in an indie film.
The Bad:- The opening oddness and spookiness is somewhat dispelled when the exposition does arrive. While the rest of the film is still enjoyable, it loses a little of the sense of oddity that it has to begin with.
The Verdict:- An enjoyable sci fi flick which feels like it manages to successfully meld an indie sensibility with that of a big screen Hollywood blockbuster. It’s an intriguing combination and I’m definitely keen to see some of their other films.
The Venue / Intro / Q&A:- This one was at the Empire Haymarket - another cinema that I’ve never been to before. The screen is massive and very slightly curved - I liked it, felt very immersive. Co-directors and writers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead were on hand for intro and Q&A. Their last couple of films have screened at the festival and there was certainly a lot of love for them in the room with a number of return viewers on hand to question them. They talked a little about wanting to buck the trend of dour endings for indie movies as well as talking about how they like to link their movies with relatively subtle nods and references (which obviously I didn’t get as this is the first of their films that I’ve seen).
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