Direction: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
Country: USA
I was never a big fan of the presumptuous, convoluted and gimmicky stories presented by the team of American filmmakers/producers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Resolution; Spring; The Endless). Their fourth feature, Synchronic, is the most accessible thus far, but despite the creators' attempts to engulf us in the mystery, it remains frustratingly limited, especially plot-wise. As usual, Benson wrote the script while Moorhead took responsibility for the cinematography.
This half-psychedelic sci-fi thriller revolves around two paramedics and best friends - Steve (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan) - who start feeling depressed, not just with what’s going on in their personal lives, but also while working night shifts. The reason is a new synthetic drug, Synchronic, which is doing a lot of damage. Its consumers whether get severely harmed or vanish without a trace. Following the mysterious disappearance of Dennis’ teenage daughter, Brianna (Ally Ioannides), Steven decides to investigate further by exposing himself to the drug. He finds that Synchronic is a time-travel pill that can give you a 7-minute regression to an indistinct point in time but can also trap you in there forever. In any case, physical pain is real.
Few scenes come off as entertaining, and the experience becomes even more nonsensical if we think about the geographical factor of the experience - the location you are when the drug kicks in determines to where you will travel.
This new Benson/Moorhead oddity depicts friendship, courage and sacrifice, but feels contrived at every move. In the end, I mourned a dog, turning my back to all the other unremarkable characters.
