Narcopolis

Justin Trefgarne has his first cinematic debut with the crowdfunded Narcopolis; a sci-fi drama about a future where drugs have been not only legalized, but are being pushed by corporate backers as being a safe alternative to street narcotics.

There were several things I really liked about this film, despite being what most people would consider a low budget type of film. First, as a science fiction, it brings a very unique idea to the audience. Although the majority of the film is in the detective style of neo-noir films, the concept is a solid one. Imagine a future, where the majority of citizens are not only using, but encouraged to do so though advertising and product guarantees. Narcotics are available in every society I can think of, but very few of them have been privatized outside of the prescription drug market. There is some decent acting, and I was particularly impressed by Eliot Cowan's portrayal as the protagonist Frank Grieves; who portrayed a massive and daunting man, battling his own demons, while progressing through a series of bizarre events.

The things that most people will notice are the poorly written plot twists, and dialogue. Some of the twists that are meant to shock the audience fall quite flat during this film, or are revealed at the wrong times. Perhaps due to poor direction or writing execution, it's hard to say, but there are several scenes that make little to no sense in the overall plot. A few of the actors are new, and you can tell in the way they exchange dialogue. Yet if you can look past these scene errors and look at the overall film, I think you'll be quite pleased at the end result. I encourage more films from Justin Trefgarn and hope he keeps to the same genre. I especially enjoyed the opening of the film, which set quite a pace that I wished that the rest of the movie kept up to.

Needless to say, it's a very sound Sci-Fiction / Drama, but most viewers will hold it to perhaps too high a standard. An excellent first entry along the lines of 'Equilibrium' (2002).

5/10

***EDIT

2018-01-21

Okay, I just re-watched this, and I do NOT know what the hell I was smokin' when I originally reviewed this, but quite honestly this film a near masterpiece! Serious 'Hard' Science Fiction, well done, beautifully conceptualized. I cannot understand for the life of me why the average rating for this film is only 4.4 at this moment. This is truly one of THE very best Sci Fi films that I have seen in a very long time. Powerful, effective, and most DEFINITELY engaging!

*******

Clearly, the director and everyone involved poured their hearts into the making of this film. The performances are quite good. It's an interesting touch that the boy and the Mother in the film are in actuality the wife and son of the director. The boy is particularly good in his role, and although not really having much experience in heavy duty acting, he really did an outstanding job, especially in his scenes with his screen Dad.

The cinematography was also very good with some nice shots of futuristic looking buildings from different countries in contrast with some rather stark UK interior shots. Apparently, they had VERY little money to work with, but considering that, I thought they did an EXCELLENT job of putting this movie together. The editing and pacing are good. I particularly liked the sound design. I thought that it fit the scenes really well with a nice mix of Industrial and moody backgrounds that were quite effective.

The director mentions in his commentary that he deliberately left the last act and the ending slightly ambiguous, which is fine. I don't mind ambiguous endings at all, and I felt the film ended on just the right note... Another great example of a similarly themed movie (although having to do with memory) is the excellent French film 'CHRYSALIS' (2007) which I would also HIGHLY recommend for a Futuristic Crime Thriller!

I would keep in mind, though, that if you are expecting a really HUGE, epic Sci Fi Blockbuster (like the Awesome 'BLADE RUNNER' for example) this movie isn't about that. The look, cinematography, and style are very nicely done, but the Sci Fi elements are more downplayed and low-key. So, you might not get quite as worked up as you would for other Science Fiction films that have more effects and action, since this one is more concept and character driven. BUT... with that said, when the Sci Fi part of the story kicks in about half way through, the concept and story are very well thought out and executed, and the film most definitely DOES leave the audience wondering and asking themselves what the hell is going to happen next...

I had originally given the film a '7', but just after rewatching it now just about 3 years later, I most enthusiastically give it a strong '8'

Very highly recommended!

I would have given it 7 stars for the plot and idea, but this movie so very messy. I just can't help but giving it five. The characters lack depth, the scenery is very messy and the plot is just so tangled you just find it hard to keep track of the conversations and all the events that take place in the movie. This is generally a fun and refreshing sci fi thriller that deals with a shady future and it that sense the setup does look gray and depressing. The problem is with the characters who lack depth and it's not easy to figure out their background - with messy flashbacks not being as clear as they perhaps were meant to be. The story is somewhat tangled and has a few unexplained holes with conversations that are vague and unclear and characters behaving unreasonably.

It's a movie that deserves a good word but somehow the mess just ruins the party and when the movie ends, you just have this empty feeling of "oh it ended... I didn't even notice it until the credits appeared".

I decided to watch this film, on a wet and windy day. Much as i tried it was very difficult to hear the dialogue, and this common problem persists with many films, on offer on film packages ( sky movies etc ). What makes this problem so frustrating, is that numbers of films are allowed to be made with this handicap. I gave up after 20 minutes, as it looked interesting. H B O or Home Box Office create wonderful drama programmes, and unfortunate mugs like me, suffer from great expectations, all because we believe that being able to hear the spoken word.should be possible Rating ....4

I like this genre so I gave Narcopolis a try, even after reading the negative reviews. I should have listened to them though. The story is way too complicated to make sense, a lot of plot holes, unanswered questions, and an ending that is absolutely not satisfying. I was going to be generous and give it a five but because of the ending I changed that to a four. The production is of low quality. The filming is okay, the sound editing not great, the sountrack is just bad, and the acting is just average. But even with a higher budget you couldn't make a good movie with a story like this one. The idea was there, the execution wasn't.