The Signal
2.5/4
Starring: Brenton Thwaites, Laurence Fishburne, Olivia Cooke, Beau Knapp
Rated PG-13 for Some Thematic Elements, Violence and Language
"The Signal" almost works. I can't in good conscience recommend it outright, but it is compelling and strongly acted. It will appeal most to those who love the "mindfuck" genre. This is one of those movies that screws with your head.
Three friends, Nic (Thwaites), Hayley (Cooke) and Jonah (Knapp) are on their way to California. Their main purpose is to take Hayley to California (for reasons that are never identified), but Nic and Jonah have an additional purpose. A hacker named Nomad hacked into MIT's networks, including their own, and pinned the blame on them. They want to find him, but in order to do so, they're forced to play a creepy game of cat and mouse. He leads them to an out of the way house where something happens. The next thing Nic knows is that he's woken up in a hospital and is being interrogated by a man in a hazmat-like suit. The man calls himself Dr. Damon (Fishburne). Damon tells Nic that he and his friends were exposed to an alien substance and may be contaminated. Nic wants to know where he is and what happened to his friends, but Damon is oblique and evasive. Now Nic's only focus is to find his friends and escape.
Director William Eubank directs this film as a mystery. We don't know anything more than Nic does. Where is he? Why is he there? What do Damon and the others want with him? Eubank keeps the focus on these questions, which keeps things from getting too complicated. Fortunately, they're more than enough to drive the plot.
The performances are good. The two leads are Brenton Thwaites and Laurence Fishburne, and they do great work. This is Thwaites coming out year (he already starred in "Oculus" and has the lead in "The Giver" and a role in "Ride," Helen Hunt's sophomore outing behind the camera. Thwaites is excellent as Nic; he's focused and determined, but more importantly, he's smart. Laurence Fishburne is probably one of the few actors who could have played this role (the $4 million budget notwithstanding). Like Nic, Damon smart too, but he's also dangerous. Fishburne straddles the line beautifully. Olivia Cooke is also good as Hayley, Nic's newly-ex girlfriend, but her screen time is limited. Beau Knapp is the least impressive, and is forgettable when he is not onscreen. Part of this is due to the lack of time he has on screen, but Knapp fades into the background (the only thing really memorable about him is that he reminds me of Josh Saviano, who played Paul Pfieffer in "The Wonder Years"...their similarity in appearance is uncanny).
"The Signal" is not an action film. Those who get bored by anything not directed by Michael Bay or one of his contemporaries will be bored here. This is a slowly but deliberately paced thriller. Eubanks draws us in through atmosphere and mood. There's plenty of slow-motion (mostly used effectively) and flashbacks. However, while this enhances the film's mysteriousness and creepy factor, it distances us from the characters. I didn't really care about anyone to a large extent, and that limits the film's effectiveness. Additionally, Eubank's stylistic choices are sometimes excessive, which takes it to Steve McQueen (the director of last year's Best Picture winner, "12 Years a Slave") territory. It's not as pretentious since Eubank is focused on telling the story, but it comes close.
The film's plot is not airtight. While many movies of this nature reveal holes post-viewing, there are some obvious ones while the film is unspooling. And the ending, while somewhat surprising, is not properly set up and raises more questions than it answers.
Still, I was engaged throughout the film, and only checked my watch once or twice. That's saying something, right?
Starring: Brenton Thwaites, Laurence Fishburne, Olivia Cooke, Beau Knapp
Rated PG-13 for Some Thematic Elements, Violence and Language
"The Signal" almost works. I can't in good conscience recommend it outright, but it is compelling and strongly acted. It will appeal most to those who love the "mindfuck" genre. This is one of those movies that screws with your head.
Three friends, Nic (Thwaites), Hayley (Cooke) and Jonah (Knapp) are on their way to California. Their main purpose is to take Hayley to California (for reasons that are never identified), but Nic and Jonah have an additional purpose. A hacker named Nomad hacked into MIT's networks, including their own, and pinned the blame on them. They want to find him, but in order to do so, they're forced to play a creepy game of cat and mouse. He leads them to an out of the way house where something happens. The next thing Nic knows is that he's woken up in a hospital and is being interrogated by a man in a hazmat-like suit. The man calls himself Dr. Damon (Fishburne). Damon tells Nic that he and his friends were exposed to an alien substance and may be contaminated. Nic wants to know where he is and what happened to his friends, but Damon is oblique and evasive. Now Nic's only focus is to find his friends and escape.
Director William Eubank directs this film as a mystery. We don't know anything more than Nic does. Where is he? Why is he there? What do Damon and the others want with him? Eubank keeps the focus on these questions, which keeps things from getting too complicated. Fortunately, they're more than enough to drive the plot.
The performances are good. The two leads are Brenton Thwaites and Laurence Fishburne, and they do great work. This is Thwaites coming out year (he already starred in "Oculus" and has the lead in "The Giver" and a role in "Ride," Helen Hunt's sophomore outing behind the camera. Thwaites is excellent as Nic; he's focused and determined, but more importantly, he's smart. Laurence Fishburne is probably one of the few actors who could have played this role (the $4 million budget notwithstanding). Like Nic, Damon smart too, but he's also dangerous. Fishburne straddles the line beautifully. Olivia Cooke is also good as Hayley, Nic's newly-ex girlfriend, but her screen time is limited. Beau Knapp is the least impressive, and is forgettable when he is not onscreen. Part of this is due to the lack of time he has on screen, but Knapp fades into the background (the only thing really memorable about him is that he reminds me of Josh Saviano, who played Paul Pfieffer in "The Wonder Years"...their similarity in appearance is uncanny).
"The Signal" is not an action film. Those who get bored by anything not directed by Michael Bay or one of his contemporaries will be bored here. This is a slowly but deliberately paced thriller. Eubanks draws us in through atmosphere and mood. There's plenty of slow-motion (mostly used effectively) and flashbacks. However, while this enhances the film's mysteriousness and creepy factor, it distances us from the characters. I didn't really care about anyone to a large extent, and that limits the film's effectiveness. Additionally, Eubank's stylistic choices are sometimes excessive, which takes it to Steve McQueen (the director of last year's Best Picture winner, "12 Years a Slave") territory. It's not as pretentious since Eubank is focused on telling the story, but it comes close.
The film's plot is not airtight. While many movies of this nature reveal holes post-viewing, there are some obvious ones while the film is unspooling. And the ending, while somewhat surprising, is not properly set up and raises more questions than it answers.
Still, I was engaged throughout the film, and only checked my watch once or twice. That's saying something, right?
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