Direction: Noah Hutton
Country: USA
Noah Hutton’s Lapsis may be catalogued as an independent sci-fi mystery-drama film set in a relatively near future, but all its satirized topics have considerable relevance in the present.
The story follows Ray (Dean Imperial), a truck delivery man from Queens, New York, who despite unfamiliar with the tech world, is allured into the lucrative quantum computing business. Although suspicious of the safety within this environment, he starts cabling pre-defined routes in a forested upstate zone, not only to alleviate his own financial burden but also to provide an adequate, if expensive, treatment for his half brother, Jamie (Babe Howard), who struggles with a chronic fatigue disease.
Visibly out of shape, Ray has to compete with the relentless automated cars that patrol the forest, eventually learning how to slow them down with the help of Anna (Madeline Wise), an experienced, tech-savvy cabler. Through her, he will also find out why his work ID prompts his colleagues to act with such hostility toward him.
Rawly shot, Lapsis is far from any sort of visually attractive filmmaking, but that’s not the point here. The priority is to feed a spiral wave of shady mystery with moody atmospherics at the same time that unleashes observant social commentary about tech conspiracies, deficient health systems, and companies that increase the passive income of greedy CEOs by exploiting its employees.
This fantasy is intimately linked to a painful reality, and leaves its mark. It’s likable, with tiny imperfections and a constant rhythmic beat of its own. Although not investing in any sort of climax, it provides unwavering entertainment throughout.
