Uncertainty

I was in the audience of the premiere screening of this film yesterday in Toronto. The movie was a wonderful combination of romance, drama, action, and plenty of subtle humour. The plot, which alternates between two distinct locations (Manhattan and Brooklyn/Queens), was well designed to keep audiences engaged. The concept of uncertainty and the possible consequences of all decisions was well presented throughout the movie. However, the plot and central themes may not have resulted in such a great film had it not been for the acting talents of the two stars (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lynn Collins - both present for the screening and subsequent Q&A). The filming for this movie was unique because while there was a fully developed script, it contained no dialogue and the actors improvised it during filming. They did an excellent job and the characters were very believable and the acting appeared very natural. Overall, the unique plot, talented cast, and creative filming style combined to create a wonderful film, which I hope will be appreciated by a much wider audience in the near future.

This film is good. But its different, i watched it with some friends, nobody liked it, other than me. but im kind of an oddball like that. It has two lateral plots, involving the same two leads. I thought using the colors green and yellow to differentiate was original and effective. Joseph Gordon Levitt is great in the lead and shows his range here, while Lynn Collins isn't bad either, but sure is beautiful. I had previously seen her in True Blood and was impressed, but here she takes her acting to a even higher level and leaves you entangled in her character's emotions. I thought this film has a very unique concept, and uses suitable cinematography which wouldn't work in any story, but sure does here. Overall an underrated gem from 09 that only has 329 votes on IMDb... wow...

I put this film because I got a crush on Lynn Collins and think Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a good budding star. I got my money's worth from their performances, in fact I think Collins is more than just looks, but the plot deflating in the family driven sense and the Manhattan sequence advances the tension which constantly stalls for the family sequence. Confused... yeah I was too. I looked up the film's synopsis and it made more sense.

Think of it like this, the 2010 season of Lost. Two story lines inter-cutting based on a slight change in life. I'm not wild about this film, but it deserves attention for the performances from the leads and for being original, which is a rarity nowadays.

The movie follows two possible outcomes of a single day for Bobby (Gordon-Levitt) and Kate (Lynn Collins). The two stories are almost like parallel universes, featuring the same couple. During the film, we alternate between scenes of both of those "realities". This could have made for a confusing narrative but directors Siegel and McGehee make sure we always know which story we are following with simple devices (primarily, colors and clothing but also good editing choices and writing).

Gordon-Levitt and Collins have amazing chemistry, which is showcased in two very, very different stories. One runs very much like a down-to-earth drama, where they go spend a day with Kate's family. The other story is more akin to an action thriller on a budget, where Bobby finds a cell phone that is valuable to extremely dangerous individuals.

The starting point of the narrative split is a single decision, that is eventually made on a coin toss. The whole film appears to explore the uncertainty (duh) of choices before us and how making a decision will lead us on a path that will, again, lead to more choices. It is good food for thoughts and I could appreciate how the writers went for two radically different stories, to highlight how different the future can be.

Both stories had excellent acting and were well-paced and engaging. Where I had a bit of a problem is with the thriller story, which ended abruptly and was rather unsatisfying in its resolution. Nonetheless, the whole exercise was organic. Lynn Collins was a revelation for me. As for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, this excellent actor keeps on impressing with great performances and solid, off-beat career choices. Many people like to talk about the "curse of child actors" where they disappear as they get older. Gordon-Levitt brilliantly defies this trend and oozes charisma and talent.

It's the Fourth of July, and Kate and Bobby are struggling to make a decision: do they stick with tradition and spend the weekend with Kate's family, or do they set out on their own for a spontaneous adventure? After making their initial decision, an alternate narrative emerges to show just what would have happened had they chosen to do otherwise. While the decision-making process may seem mundane, the implications of each choice are profound. Sure, a holiday with the family doesn't seem nearly as exciting as an impromptu romantic trip, but that doesn't mean it will be any less dramatic. As the stories diverge and a "what if" scenario becomes reality, it soon becomes apparent how much one seemingly minor decision can ultimately affect the rest of our lives...First of all, I really like the concept of alternative narratives; it's not exactly something new but it hasn't been explored that much. One of the narratives is more of an emotional drama and the second one is a tense thriller. The directors also made a very interesting choice, by associating a color, yellow and green, to each storyline. Thanks to the use of this color scheme the viewer never gets lost. Another interesting aspect is the fact that the script was written without dialog. The dialog was improvised but it is so natural and organic that one would never known, because of this, the relationship between the two main characters, Kate and Bobby, is one of the most believable relationships I've seen on the screen. Bobby is played by the extremely talented Joseph Gordon-Levitt and he was great as always, he never disappoints and I hope he keeps choosing this intricate and off-beat scripts. Kate is played by the beautiful Lynn Collins (True Blood, Wolverine). She was absolutely lovely as Levitt's love interest and delivered a great performance. Despite the fact that Uncertainty was filmed mainly with a hand-held camera, the cinematography is great with very interesting shots of New York City. The musical score is subtle but very efficient with beautiful slow paced melodies that compliment the scenes very well. Despite all this great attributes, it's important to mention that Uncertainty, despite being very engaging, is also experimental; it won't please everyone. I was hoping that the narratives would somehow be tied together and that never happened... and the end, although appropriated, doesn't bring any closure to the story either, so, some people will find the film a bit pointless, I can't say that was disappointed by that, the film just took a different direction then I expected. In the end, Uncertainty is all about this couple, the decision-making process and the implications that certain action courses have on our lives. It's quite an unusual experience but definitely worth watching.

7.5/10