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Next time a comet passes over head, I'll be sure to have glow sticks on hand and paying extra close attention. This physics based thriller was not something I expected. Just the phrase physics based thriller. Thanks Kelvin for this pick

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/63O-zwE9WQY

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Kelvin

Big fan of this one. I think what makes it work is that although there is the big parallel universe concept it doesn't overpower the other elements of the story, which deal mostly in the characters involved and their actions. They really feel like normal people figuring things out piece by piece. And yes, like you mentioned, there's A Lot of little clues in the dialogue scattered throughout that suggest how much inconsistency there is between various characters after they leave. Aside from the moments that were more directly spotlighted there's things like Beth and Lee at one point in the very beginning talking about the plant in her kitchen. Then later on, they have the exact same few sentences said word for word, suggesting that they haven't had that conversation yet in the current universe which Emily recognizes and is stunned by for a brief moment. There's that moment where Mike says he was on Roswell, and Laurie says she doesn't do yoga where neither seem to really be in tune with each other's ideas of the other and its guessed that that may *already* have been a point of a diverging universe (the roswell thing was a sort of sideways nod to Brendan being in a teen show I think even if they don't say Buffy directly haha). There is also a theory that every time the camera cuts to black is in fact a slightly different universe, which I don't really buy into myself because it really makes things complicated but could definitely be a possibility in this movie. I also like how the whole ending was foreshadowed through the whole movie. Even before things kick off the group of friends had tension with almost every person there (mike and beth's hidden thing, laurie and kevin and emily, amir and everyone else to some extent). Then in the early dinner conversation Laurie plants the idea unintentionally for Emily that her life was stolen from her and she carries that forward to the ending where she steals her life from another version of herself. I think something I wondered in earlier watches was why nobody was really talking, but in later rewatches I totally get it. This group is pretty dysfunctional and that was just never really in the cards. I also really loved the idea of being lost in the infinity of multiple dimensions. The first watch it really gave me chills and its such a neat little sci fi idea that I know has been done in other places but none really did it as much for me as it was here. Something I didn't realize until around a few months ago when looking up the movie was how cool the actual process of making the film was. As you mentioned, this is one that doesn't need a lot of budget, and it also didn't need a lot of time either. If I recall correctly it was able to be shot in a matter of a week or so. The script grew out of the intent of the filmmakers to make a movie on a low budget while people were out of town for a while, and they came up with the plot for the movie from there. But in terms of the script, it may be fun for you to know that the only people who actually had the overall plot in their head was the creators. The actors and pretty much all the moment to moment dialogue and decisions was improv. The creators basically came up with multiple scenes in which actors (folks they basically knew/were friends with that were good at improv) had a certain goal they were aiming for and character concepts they were playing out as they were being filmed, and they did not know much of anything else really. So for example, they were really scared in the moments when there was knocking at the door, because they had no idea that was going to happen. This really allows the movie to hit that authentic atmosphere of a gathering of friends, complete with folks having side conversations, talking over each other, and otherwise. In terms of goals, an example would be the part where Em stops Kevin from leaving. The goal as stated for Kevin was "try to leave to get them" and Emily's goal was "absolutely do not let Kevin leave". Kinda blew my mind when I read how it all came together like this, because it wouldn't seem you could make a film as "coherent" and tightly as this one with this method but they really hit it out of the park at least for me. And it gives a pretty different feeling to it all in doing it this way. The separation is such that I think Nicholas Brendon said he only saw the film years later and only then understood the whole story and was in awe.

g g gooding

Thanks for this pic, Kelvin! This has been on my list for years and now I finally saw it. It was great! A tiny bit to add about the production as i just read about it: It was shot in 5(!) days. The tight schedule was set by the directors wife as they were using their own house and she was nine months pregnant. She was actually giving birth in the house on the final day of shooting. Amir was played by the co-writer (unbeknownst to the cast). He acted as a "mole" to secretly guide the other actors towards scripted plot-points.

g g gooding

Loved this flick, but a conceit I find odd (not unrealistic, necessarily) is characters' knee-jerk reaction to wanting to kill their doppelganger. Numerous other movies do this as well. I think (don't know, course) that my reaction to meeting my nega-self would be akin to Scott's.

casualnerdreactions

Agreed, I definitely don't think I would immediately go to kill myself. But if I'd starred on "Rosewell" maybe I'd feel differently.