Lapsis

Not the easiest thing to review. It's really frustrating to get through an entire film only to come to a conclusion that one either doesn't understand or just doesn't make sense. Considering many of the reviews on here, it doesn't appear that I am alone with the finale puzzlement. I don't know when this takes place, though everything seems "today" with landlines and cell phones and normal vehicles, but it sure plays like futuristic sci-fi about, of all things, gig workers being taken advantage of. These workers are literally pulling cables through forests to connect to a new kind of computing technology. It's a very unusual, original & intelligent film with a cast of unknowns who all give honest and very real performances starting with the lead, Dean Imperial. It's well made and looks good especially for a low budget film. There 's a lot of real life family connections running through this that you can read about here. Talent clearly runs in the family. Still, as I said at the beginning, this oddity is ultimately a frustrating experience due to that obscure ending, though I'm sure writer/director Noah Hutton knows what it means. Shame he didn't let us in.

Lapsis is one of those films that makes you think. One that will be a classic in time due to its quirkiness and story. The normal story of a many named ray who joins a mysterious company that pulls cables for the quantum computer. It starts off normal until he starts to notice things and unravels a mystery that drives you deep. The cast and director both did great. Its a well written and acted film that although strange it makes fun a fun watch.

The concept of the story was really innovative with lots of commentary on gig economy workers. And how they're often taken advantage of. But I think much of the film was supposed to be satire. And if it was, it failed at making that clear. There were so many absurdities and plot holes that would have been fine if it was clear that it was satire. But it was always hard to tell.

Coincidentally, the week before seeing this, I watched Ordinary People (one of my favorite films) from 1980. It starred a young Timothy Hutton, who would go on to be the father of the director of this movie. Small world.

Ultimately, a nice try. But it needs a tone that's a little more clear.

Ok, so it's a scifi, but really it's a commentary on how technology controls humans for work and every day life. Coming from the UK, the country with the highest surveillance in the world, as well as having the situation off being unfairly charged 20,000 dollars for an education course that was supposed to be free, and which contributed to me leaving the UK because I could only ever talk to call center guys that new nothing, it seemed very relevant and powerful.

But back to the film. The characters are great, the story build intrigue and it was an original concept. Glad I watched it. Not great for action and it's not futuristic. Some avenues of the plot seemed unexplored, but I recommend it to educated adults, especially cynical adults. Definitely not for kids and not a fun movie. Could have been dull if the actors had been rubbish, but they weren't.

Watch this if you are interested in the effects modern society has on us, and like scifi which is a commentary on modern times. Original and really quite daring to so such a film which doesn't revolve around holywood cliches nor is arty or avante guarde.

I also watch almost anything SF. Problem is, most ostensible SF is SF in name only, what used to be disparaged as "sci-fi" in the SF community.

True SF is about ideas, not just mindless action sheathed in sci-fi trimmings. That is why, even with the compulsion to watch almost anything that may possibly be SF, we are mostly disappointed, so much so that being disappointed becomes the default expectation.

So, indeed, Lapsis surprisingly exceeds these expectations. It takes an idea and runs with it. That it may not comport "realistically" with actual cable laying is beside the point. We explore the "idea" and its ramifications, and this exploration is enjoyable and engaging.

That is what SF is about...so perhaps being pleasantly surprised in this manner inflates the rating a little bit, but if the grading is on a curve, it is well-deserved.