It has taken me a little while to get around to it, but I have finally had a chance to explore the mind-bending comedy sci-fi time travel film - Someone Dies! Directed and co-written by Justin Petty (Nothing Really Happens), this might be low budget and geared towards humour, but it doesn't skimp on making the time travel aspect a little bit satisfyingly convoluted.
An apparent detective (Joseph Graham - Nothing Really Happens) turns up at an apartment complex with a desperate quest in mind. He has received a letter in the post stating his young daughter has been kidnapped, and that to get her back he needs to go to this apartment address to do something or other. Pretending to be a police detective, he gets access to the place where he discovers a small but assertive young woman - Jane (Amy Anderson who also co-wrote this), she had gone to the flat to purchase a small Japanese sword from the owner; dim but kind hearted Glenn (John Wessling - Coming Out). The detective assumes they are not to be trusted and so goes a bit manic, threatening the pair with a gun. Things calm down enough to the point where the trio form a uneasy truce, and together they discover that under the sink in the kitchen, for whatever reason, is a time machine, and that this has to be linked to the kidnapper's letter.
This is a bizarre and crazy indie film that delights in its eccentric cast and zany situation. For the majority of the movie it is just the three characters, each unique and memorable in their own way. The detective is like a bull in a china shop, his over the top and outlandish behaviour made him very appealing, even if his character is meant to be not the best person. He really reminded me of Saul from Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, but in a detective form. I enjoyed how extreme his behaviour is from the get-go, how he seems to effortlessly draw people into his mad plans and theories. Glenn was a close second favourite, this mild mannered loveable idiot had some of the best dialogue within the film. Then there is Jane, someone whose personality isn't as extreme, but plays the 'straight man' archetype, pointing out flaws in the other characters reasoning, and acting as a mediator, attempting to understand the detective while not being shy to point out his many flaws. In general terms, the dialogue was Someone Dies! strongest point. For all the plots of time travelling cupboards and kidnapped daughters, the meat of the story is the three characters talking with each other.
I found the core story to be a little too confusing, of course with time travel stories that is often the case. I always felt like there were some core parts of the plot that I just didn't clock, something that isn't always helped by the way it is presented to the viewer. The detective arrives in the story due to the letter about kidnapping he receives. This letter seems to have a lot to it, but is never shown on screen for long enough a time to be able to be read. This led to blind spots for me, I wasn't entirely sure why he had gone to the apartment, nor what he was meant to be doing while there. At some point the carrying storyline moves from rescuing his daughter, to wanting to travel back in time so that he can be a better father to her. I didn't really understand why the other characters get so caught up in this with him, as a lot of the threat is perceived and not actually real. Time travel doesn't feature too much, but there are some parts to it. Early on for instance, the detective shoots Glenn. Later in the film his arm is suddenly fine, but instead the man has a missing eye. I liked how unexplained the time travel part was, characters never really understand where exactly things are sent in time to.
In addition to the clever dialogue there are visual gags, including a recurring idea that I loved. Much of the film is silent in terms of soundtrack, but music does appear for dramatic moments. In a genius move, this music is always manually initiated by characters, due to a music deck they have. So for instance, after the detective is shot at while in his car, tense music begins as he flees back to the apartment. Heading in, he sees Jane and Glenn dancing to the soundtrack, which is shown to be playing on the tape deck. This recurring joke of the music being actually within the movie was wonderful, I never got sick of that. As clever as the plot seemed to be though, the core carrying line never clicked with me, I always felt a bit bemused and confused as to what was going on, that did get in the way of my complete enjoyment.
Someone Dies! had an undeniable charm to it. It did get exhausting at times playing catch-up to the characters who seemed like they knew what is going on, I wish some parts of this had been explained better. This indie comedy sci-fi film was entertaining, great characters and fun moments led to something that was neat to watch. Someone Dies! had it's digital release on Amazon on October 21st.
SCORE:
No comments:
Post a Comment