 Directors: Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead Writer: Justin Benson Starring: Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Ally Ioannides Two New Orleans paramedics' lives are ripped apart after encountering a series of horrific deaths linked to a new designer drug with bizarre, otherworldly effects. So prepare to be re-dazzled by the brilliant auteurs of The Endless, Spring and Resolution inventively playing with time and space again, continuing to add layers of exhilarating ambition and stimulating creativity to their unique cinematic universe. In order to give what we believe to be a more unbiased constructive criticism of the piece, the members of Bloodhound Pix are tackling each review as a panel of three. None of the members know the others’ thoughts on the content until after they submit their initial response. Initial Reaction to SynchronicC. Synchronic, also known as “bigger budget equals lots of zoom out to aerial shots… the movie.” All joking aside (I will come back to it later), the movie is amazing. It utilizes that imperfection and character-study intimacy (in the mumblecore genre) that comes with indie films but they are able to pair it well with the spectacle of a larger budget aesthetic. That is a crucial component to keep this movie feeling fresh and ultimately make the audience care at a deeper level instead of just watching cool effects on a screen. While I don’t want to spoil too much and I know Kyle will get more into it, the basic concept is there’s a synthetic drug going around that causes people to go back in time for about seven minutes, leading to unexplainable deaths or accidents that paramedics, Steve (Mackie) and Dennis (Dornan) are called to handle. Apparently they’re the only paramedics on staff in New Orleans too. After Steve finds out he only has about six weeks to live (the ol terminal illness plotline) and Dennis’ teenage daughter, Brianna (Ioannides) vanishes, Steve buys up all the Synchronic to search for her across time. First, I think this is some of Dornan and Mackie’s best work. The indie film storytelling approach really allows the actors to get comfortable in their roles and relationships to one another in an authentic way that is missing from a lot of these melodramatic blockbusters or franchises. In connection with this on Benson and Moorhead’s part, the filmmakers (like in their previous work) excel at using familiar story tropes to create a familiar space for the audience but then make it unique by incorporating their personal touch. It’s clearly the last hurrah of their independence projects before they tackle a whole different beast, known as Disney. I keep mentioning the obvious transition that is being made from indie to studio filmmaker, which I’ve made clear are some of its strengths. However, I mention this because in modern indie films (like their work prior) there tends to be a lot of meandering. They’re trying to fill a feature’s length of time on a low budget, they’re more character-driven to avoid budgetary costs, there’s a slew of reasons but that’s why mumblecore seems to get a bad rap for a lot of audiences. This never gets dull or goes too far on the spectrum to become a work of self-indulgence but there are moments where I was taken out of the movie (look to my opening joke). Early on we get the whole “time isn’t a straight line” explanation that is said in some form or another in most time travel or black hole movies, which leads to several scenes being replayed throughout with a slight change in dialogue or shift in perspective. That part is amazing and works perfectly with the plot. For me, I found myself taken out of the movie when every other shot was a zoom out to an aerial shot, a drone shot, or a new favorite of rotating the camera so the street now looks like it's the sky. They look beautiful and they’re utilizing that bigger budget but if only ten minutes in I’m thinking, “they’re doing that a lot,” it loses the “wow” factor and enters that unfortunate realm of indie, auteur self-indulgence. There’s no denying Synchronic is an amazing movie. Benson and Moorhead have yet again made another mind-bending flick that is also accessible to a general audience, in the same way that Nolan’s Inception seemed complicated until you gave it some thought. The only issues that I had again are scripting or establishing shot elements that (for a movie like this) start to be seen as filler rather than stylistic choices. Really, I’m interested to see what they accomplish with the Moon Knight episodes they direct and working with a tighter script. J. IMDB says Synchronic was released in 2019. Google says October 23, 2020. I saw it in 2021… hell, it could conceivably be the film of all three years. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have become quite the science fiction/horror auteur-types in the last five years or so and rightfully so. Like The Endless before Synchronic is a very high concept idea that’s executed in a very minimalist way. That’ll make sense once you see the movie. The story is always interesting and keeps you guessing. The actors are terrific. The cinematography and direction is terrific. And honestly, if you’re a genre fan, you should have a pretty good idea what you’re in for with a film by Benson and Moorhead: a thought provoking, wholly original, emotional thrilling journey. K. Synchronic follows Steve (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan) two paramedics in New Orleans, amidst a rampant opioid crisis. The thing is users have begun overdosing in gruesomely inexplicable ways, often possessing items from primitive time periods. Dennis’s daughter, Brianna (Ally Ioannides) goes missing during a party while Steve discovers that the titular synthetic drug, Synchronic, has an effect on the pineal gland of young adults causing them to travel through time for 7 minutes per dose, and this may be the key to bringing Brianna back. These cosmic themes harken back to their earlier work, specifically Resolution and The Endless. Here they’ve created an interesting new spin on the sci-fi time travel plot, within a much more grounded and character-based story. Using the drug as the time travel vehicle and the user’s geographic location as a temporal and spatial junction point, serving to underline the theme of time. That which is fleeting and rarely, if ever, fully appreciated by those blessed with it. We see how the present is only one layer of a vast temporal cake. The film is beautifully shot and constructed. The time travel sequences are exquisitely crafted, tense with the thrill and danger of jumping around in time. Mackie and Dornan are in top form. Mackie has a few of the film’s funniest moments, drunkenly riffing on Back to the Future in particular. Though I must admit I was more intellectually interested than emotionally invested in the story, until the film’s final scene when it all hit home. I think this is Benson and Moorhead’s best work to date, and I’ve enjoyed all of their work. It feels like the culmination of all their previous films. Response to SynchronicC. I think we all agree that this is Benson and Moorhead’s best film to date. They are able to keep their character-driven, independent sensibilities and bring it into a higher budget range. Fans of their work will already be on board and those that aren’t, may find this more accessible with its Nolan-esque plot. Does that style of meandering storytelling and cinematography take you out of the character’s journey and sci-fi spectacle that they are trying to tell? Sometimes. But, if I was just watching for purely enjoyment purposes instead of with the review-mindset, then I’m sure I wouldn’t notice the few nitpicky issues I had. J. I said before you should have a good idea what Benson and Moorhead have in store for you if you’re a genre fan and Synchronic is they’re strongest film yet. Even the indie, auteur self-indulgent camera work... K. As my colleagues have already said, it’s top-notch work from Benson and Moorhead. I don’t think the camera work was self-indulgent at all. And I’m exciting to see their next original feature. Bloodhound’s average score: 5 out of 5Bloodhound Pix is made up of: Craig Draheim, Josh Lee, and Kyle Hintz  Follow them at https://www.twitter.com/BloodhoundPix https://www.facebook.com/BloodhoundPix/ https:/www.instagram.com/bloodhoundpix/ Be on the lookout for new episodes of the Bloodhound Pix Podcast every Sunday. Available on Itunes, Youtube, and Soundcloud.    |
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