Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: Ryan J. Sloan
Starring: Ariella Mastroianni, Renee Gagner, Jack Alberts, Tommy Kang, Marcia DeBonis
One of my favourite movie weapons is the "Looker gun" from Michael Crichton's 1981 sci-fi thriller Looker. This is a gun that emits a flash of light and sends its target into a trance state for up to hours at a time. Crichton renders this masterfully through the use of jump cuts, with characters suddenly awakening and realising they've lost hours. Much of the mystery revolves around how they might have been manipulated during those blackouts.
I have to assume Gazer, the directorial debut of Ryan J. Sloan, is heavily influenced by Crichton's film. For a start there's the similarity between the two movies' titles. But Sloan also refashions the Looker gun effect in a more realistic manner. His protagonist is dogged by similar losses of time, but they're as a result of a neurological condition rather than any far-fetched weapon.
Frankie (co-writer Ariella Mastroianni) suffers from dyschronometria, a debilitating condition that makes it difficult for her to perceive the passing of time. Susceptible to zoning out for extended periods, Frankie has various methods of trying to keep herself focussed. She plans out her day on cassette tapes which she subsequently listens to via a walkman (ask your parents kids), with recorded instructions that remind her to "look around" and "focus." Frankie also likes to observe strangers and make up stories about them in her head.
While working at a petrol station, Frankie keeps herself focussed by snooping on the apartments across the street, ala Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window. And just like Stewart, Frankie believes she witnesses an aggressive altercation through one of the windows. A man is seen shouting at a woman, who later is seen leaving the apartment complex in what appears to be a distressed state. That same woman, Paige (Renee Gagner), just happens to show up at one of the grief counselling gatherings Frankie has attended since her husband took his life. The two women get talking and Frankie reveals that she has little more than a year left to live and wants to save up as much money as possible to leave to her young daughter, who is now in the custody of her mother-in-law. Paige all too conveniently has a way for Frankie to make an easy $3,000. Paige wants to get away from her abusive brother and will reward Frankie if she can sneak into their apartment, swipe her car keys and leave her car on some waste ground. With little to lose, Frankie agrees.
This is the starting point for what develops into a classic noir narrative, with Frankie turning detective as she finds herself in the centre of a conspiracy. Sloan pulls from various influences while fashioning a thriller that stands on its own feet. Frankie's methods of staying focussed are reminiscent of the system Guy Pearce employs in Memento. She spends most of the movie sporting a bandage on her head following a violent altercation, a detail that nods to Jack Nicholson in Chinatown. There are explicit references to two Cronenberg movies in the nightmare sequences that see Frankie try to recall what really happened when her husband ended it all. And of course there's the Looker shtick of Frankie losing time, similarly rendered via jump cuts. The latter moments go a long way to enhancing the paranoid atmosphere.
With her small frame and deteriorating health, Frankie is a uniquely vulnerable noir protagonist. It's this vulnerability that makes it so easy for us to root for her. This is a woman who has taken a beating from life and wants to use what little time she has left to help her kid as best she can. When Frankie realises she's been stiffed on her deal with Paige, her initial conquest is motivated simply by getting the money she was promised. As the mystery deepens however, Frankie's motivations take on that of a saviour figure. Any questions over why she doesn't involve the police are easily dismissed by Frankie's paranoia regarding what might have occurred during her blackouts, as it becomes apparent she's being framed.
Not everything gels smoothly. The dream sequences are so clearly indebted to Cronenberg that they feel out of place in what is otherwise a gritty, grounded thriller. This is a low budget production that is rough around the edges, with the occasional amateurish performance from supporting players. But such niggles aside, this is an impressive debut from Sloan, with Mastroianni quietly commanding our attention with a subtly riveting performance as one of the more fascinating heroines the thriller genre has offered in recent years.
Gazer is in UK cinemas from July 25th.
