A paramedic experiments with a designer drug connected to the
disappearance of his colleague's daughter.
Review by
Ren Zelen
Directed by: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Ally Ioannides, Katie
Aselton
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have been making original
and intellectually intriguing genre films since
Resolution (2012) and the highly unusual relationship drama
Spring
(2014), their last offering being 2017’s enigmatic, time-glitch mystery,
The Endless.
Their movies have gleaned a substantial cult following and fans have been
looking forward to the release of Synchronic since its
announcement. The indie sci-fi has been described as a successor to cult
classic Primer and is probably their most cinema-friendly,
straightforward film to date.
The story concerns Steve (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan), ambulance paramedics in New Orleans. They are colleagues supporting each
other in a difficult job, which consists of a nightly round of grim medical
emergencies - shootings, stabbings and drug overdoses.
They also happen to be best friends despite leading very different lives -
Dennis is dissatisfied in his home life and envies Steve his bachelor life
of promiscuous sex and little responsibility, while Steve is growing weary
of his empty existence and increasingly craves a family like Dennis’s, with
a house and kids and a wise-cracking wife.
The paramedic duo find themselves called to a string of drug overdoses
resulting in grisly and inexplicable deaths or accidents. Common to each
scene is the use of a newly circulating, synthetic designer drug called
‘Synchronic’, which reportedly causes incredibly intense and realistic
‘hallucinations’.
When Dennis’s rebellious teenage daughter Brianna (Ally Ioannides)
disappears while partying on the same substance, Steve, who fancies himself
an "amateur physicist," tracks down several doses, and, feeling that he has
nothing to lose, decides to try an experiment.
Unbeknownst to Dennis, Steve has been diagnosed with a brain tumour that
affects his pineal gland. This impacts his receptivity to the drug
Synchronic and makes his response similar to that of the young people who
form the majority of users.
Dennis tries all the avenues he can think of to track down his daughter but
feels helpless in the face of wife Tara’s frustration (an underused
Katie Aselton). He begins to isolate himself and to shut down
emotionally, at a loss as to what to do to mend his disintegrating
relationship with his family and also with his friend Steve, who he suspects
is becoming addicted to painkillers, knowing nothing about his brain
tumour.
In contrast, despite fighting his own battle with terminal illness, Steve
is spurned into action, investigating the role the drug Synchronic may have
had in Brianna’s disappearance. He finds the last few supplies of Synchronic
and doses himself up, hoping that the experience may give him a clue as to
what happened to Dennis’s daughter.
The results turn out to be far more than just hallucinatory. Steve is
trailed by a scientist who explains that the drug doesn’t simply create
vivid illusions, but reveals how, for short periods, it actually thrusts
users bodily into the distant past. Whatever happens during their hazardous
sojourn in past history has a real effect on their actual physical
body.
This premise allows Benson and Moorhead to create a story spanning
timelines and loaded with striking visual effects. The duo remain incredibly
hands-on - still scripting, editing and co-directing their movies. As with
their previous films, the effects are remarkably impressive when we consider
their limited budgets - you can see every penny being used onscreen, in the
vivid imagery, in the eerie scenes, in the camerawork and editing, and in
Jimmy LaValle’s pulsing score.
What may be most striking about this latest film is Benson and Moorhead’s
increasing sense of cinematic confidence. Attuned to their faithful
following they’re now pretty sure that their audience is going to buy into
their premise and follow the storyline along its weird path. They also got
lucky in attracting two such well-known leading men.
Mackie is particularly arresting, taking time out of his Marvel gig to
shine in something which gives him more scope. He doesn’t waste the
opportunity, building a buddy relationship with Dornan and making the most
of the script’s moments of humour.
What I am personally most pleased to see is that Benson and Moorhead remain
determined to tackle challenging and fantastical sci-fi ideas. I’m not
convinced that Synchronic is one of their most original movies
or that it’s going to be one of my favourites, but in the current cinematic
climate, where it’s too often too easy to guess how movies will unfold,
indie voices like Benson and Moorhead’s continue to be more inventive and
unique than most of the big-budget films produced by the major
studios.
Synchronic is on Netflix UK/ROI
now.