Prospect

Prospect, directed by Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell, is a tale you could see on the fringes of a larger story. It tells about a young teenage girl, played by Sophie Thatcher, who lands on a distant planet with her dad (Jay Duplass), to hunt and harvest precious gemstones that might be their ticket to better life and prosperity. But, on the outer planets, you run into all sorts of danger.

Prospect is not a large story. Its about a single life, single girl, trying to survive a horrible situation. This story could be told in many ways. It could be a three page short story in a pulp magazine focusing on westerns. It could be a side plot on a TV series. It could be a whole novel, if you padded it and fleshed it out, but even then there's not that much to bite on.

And that's exactly why the film is so refreshing. Because it is such a rare piece, because it chooses to focus on a smaller story. And because it such a well-told narrative, it manages to make such a story feel grander than it is.

It helps that the film is brilliantly made. You can very easily see the limitations of the budget, but fortunately modern effects are so good that you can tell a science fiction story, set on a distant planet, and make it seem real even if you don't have the budget for huge sets and elaborate props.

The acting is also surprisingly good. Thatcher plays her character very mellow, very low-key, but it works. Pedro Pascal as Ezra, a mercenary harvester, is also brilliant. Just the right amount of quirk mixed with world-weariness.

Prospect is an easy recommendation if you're a fan of the science fiction genre. Beautiful visuals, interesting scenarios, great world-building and off-beat story moments. What's not to like?

Simple, believable, and without unnecessary fluff, the story draws you into this young girls challenges while coming of age. As if reading an early science fiction short, you are provided just enough information to move the story along, and are left to your imagination to characterize the individuals and draw your own moral implications from their actions. In this age of high budget, force fed conclusions and extravagant special effects....some trust has been placed in the audience. I like that.

This isn't space battles, explosions, and flashy visual effects. Instead, it's a well-acted story about people, that happens to be set in an interplanetary context. Great aesthetic and prop design, an interesting mix of futuristic and retro.

Prospect is a slow burn of a film. It's the kind of film that asks for a viewer who is willing to appreciate the subtle but deft world-building and peculiarly literate dialog. This is not cheap-thrills scifi, but neither is it navel gazing pedantry. It's a clear story of an often tense struggle in a treacherous and foreign setting.

It is slow, but it is not a slog; on the contrary I found it to be very well-paced. We're never in one place very long, either literally or narratively.

All the acting is good to very good. The photography is excellent. The budget (~3mil) was used well and I found all the props, costumes and effects to be really quite convincing.

I'm glad I took a chance with this one. It paid off.

As you can see by the reviews posted so far, this little gem polarises the audience.

One share of the Reviews is 7-10, the other 1-3. Almost nothing in between.

Probably this his to to with the expections.

Well, if you're looking for some fast-paced space battle pew pew laser action this isn't the movie you want to watch. This isn't a movie about aliens or about high-tech spacecraft. It's a movie about a few people in a difficult situation.

Made using simple means but with love to the detail. Retro in the best sense. Slow but thrilling. Good acting.

To give away too much of the plot would be a shame. So just watch and enjoy. (Or don't watch if you only like movies with tons of explosions and lengthy chases.)