Things Will Be Different - New Release Review
Director: Michael Felker
Starring: Riley Dandy, Adam David Thompson, Chloe Skoczen, Justin Benson, Sarah Bolger
Written by: Michael Felker
Produced by: Michael Felker, Jacob Rosenthal, Shane Spiegel
Cinematography by: Carissa Dorson
Original Score by: Jimmy LaValle, Michael A. Muller
Synopsis:
In order to escape police after a robbery, two estranged siblings lay low in a farmhouse that hides them away in a different time. There they reckon with a mysterious force that pushes their familial bonds to unnatural breaking points.
Thoughts:
This is a film that you'll need to give your full attention from the opening scene to the end credits. It's a bit of a mind melter and I'm certain it's layered so that more information is uncovered with various watches. I've only watched it once and I enjoyed it but it was a bit frustrating at times.
Riley Dandy plays Sidney, a mysterious woman who has committed a bank robbery with her estranged brother Joe (Adam David Thompson) and we are first introduced to them when they rendezvous at a quiet little diner in the middle of nowhere. They're heading to a safehouse of sorts on an isolated stretch of farmland carrying two bags burtsing with cash so they can lie low for a few weeks. But this isn't just any old safehouse. Through a special door lies a portal to another time. Sid and Joe fiddle with a few clocks and a rotary phone and Bam! they're back in time.
The old house is fully stocked with food and amenities and through the power of montage the siblings have a gay old time, rekindling their relationship. But when the duo are ready to return to their own time they find that the door has been locked and that a strange invisible force is stopping them from escaping the perimeter of the farmland. What will they do?
'Things Will Be Different' will mess with your mind, in a good way. The mystery element of the film is present right from the opening sequence. There isn't too much information revealed about the robbery or about the siblings relationship, but we do get some of that later on. It's science fiction because it involves time travel and they present it in a more primitive way than say something like 'Back to the Future' . It's way more grounded than that and working admirably within a smallish budget. However the crux of the story revolves around Sid and Joe's connection to each other and what they are willing to do to get back to their own time.
I won't go into spoiler territory but it's twisty and clever and will have you guessing for the majority of the runtime however there are parts of the film that's a slog to get through. I found myself regrettably just wanting to get to the inevitable "twist" or "reveal" which usually happens in the third act. However there's definitely enough here in the meat of the film to keep the average viewer interested. You'll probably spend the majority of the film trying to throw out plausible theories as to what the hell is actually happening, just as Sid and Joe do too. A huge testament to Felker's writing and the performances from both Riley Dandy and Adam David Thompson, who are the sole characters for 95% of the film.
Watching this I had a sneaky suspicion that Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (The Endless, Something in the Dirt) were involved somehow and they are, as Executive Producers, and then I learned afterwards that Felker has previously collaborated with the them on some of their own twisty, time travelly, existential mind fucks. Benson and Moorhead are widely regarded as two of the most revered "up and coming" genre filmmakers in the biz and I guess we gotta add Felker to that list now too.
Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
-Gavin Logan
'Things Will Be Different' arrives in Irish/UK cinemas October 4th and on Bluray November 18th
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