Starring Christopher Denham, Nicole Vicius, Brit Marling
Directed by Zal Batmanglij
Ambiguity is a funny thing. When used with discretion, it can prove utterly engrossing, encouraging an audience to fill in the missing details of the elliptic story theyre watching unfold. However, should a narrative prove too nebulous, those very same viewers can be left wondering if even the filmmaker has bothered to figure it all out. Admittedly, Zal Batmanglijs low-budget sci-fi thriller treads perilously close to landing in the latter camp. Fortunately, he possesses sufficient technical prowess to help paper over the gaping holes in his films plot.
And never are his skills more prominently displayed than during an exceptional opening sequence that sees undercover documentarians Peter (Christopher Denham) and Lorna (Nicole Vicius) arriving at a suburban Californian home in order to infiltrate and expose a doomsday cult. By virtue of moody cinematography and meticulous editing, the unassuming kitchen where theyre processed becomes as menacing as any gulag. Likewise, an otherworldly air is lent to the white-walled, beige-carpeted basement where theyre introduced to Maggie (Brit Marling), a frail messianic figure who claims to be from the year 2054.
In one of her bizarre homilies, Maggie shares a song from the future, only for it to turn out to be The Cranberries 1993 hit . By all rights, Batmanglijs refusal to explain this development should be frustrating. Yet, the scenes eerie beauty leaves you inclined to forgive his weird-for-weirds-sake tendencies. In fact, the film as a whole takes its cues from Maggie. Its ludicrous enough to court derision but too bewitching to be readily dismissed. Curtis Woloschuk
