The colors of this film feel like they were pulled straight from a hazy 1950s stage set with all the dusty golds, muted teals and flickering spotlights that make you think you’re watching something both retro and out of time. From the very first frame, the film pushes into the feel of a dream more than a straightforward story, and for better and worse, that’s what makes it stick.
Synopsis
The film centers on Paul Cole(Andre Holland), an actor found battered, penniless and memory-blank in a strange small Ohio town. He has no idea how he got there, who he was, or what he was supposed to do. With only scraps of past identity, he takes an odd job at a tannery, drifts through town and eventually forms a connection with Edna (Gemma Chan), a costume-designer in the town’s theatre company. As his memories flicker in and out, characters around him appear, disappear and reappear under different names and roles making reality itself feel unstable.
Holland’s performance is quietly intense. He barely raises his voice but you feel the confusion, fear, and longing in his eyes. He literally carries the film. Visually, director Duke Johnson goes bold with atmosphere. The town is staged like a set-piece, the lighting like a theatre-backdrop which enhances the sense of displacement. Paul isn’t just lost in memory, but lost also in his own world.
His relationship, although not really shown extensively, gives the film its rare warm moments. In Paul’s foggy world,, she serves as a grounding star and their scenes feel genuine, offering relief from the dream-fog.
But the film falls short because it wants to feel like an identity puzzle. The plot leaves big gaps making me a little stranded with the ambiguity. The pacing is uneven as well. You’ll hit enthralling scenes, then struggle through stretches where momentum seems missing.
It felt like the film was more interested in mood than the story. For a film about identity, there were moments where I wanted to care more about Paul’s past, but the film kept him just distant enough, making my emotional investment harder.
I actually loved much about this film, especially how it made me sit back, feel slightly off-balance, and think. The aesthetics, Holland’s performance and the off-kilter tone all combine to create something you don’t just watch but you experience. It’s a film that looks like a 1950s Hollywood dream which I absolutely adore.
That said, if you go watching this, expecting a clean narrative with clear resolutions, I promise you’ll be disappointed. I guess it only gives up answers for atmosphere and for me, that trade-off mostly paid off, though I found myself wishing it reached just a bit further emotionally.
Rating: 7.2/10
Therefore, if you like films that blur reality and memory, that value atmosphere and performance over bullet-proof plotting, you can go ahead to watch this. Also, if you’re okay with leaving the theatre with questions instead of answers. But if you prefer thriller-style pacing, clear story arcs, or characters you instantly connect with, this might feel a bit elusive.