In brief, this is very much (for mostly better, only a little not) a debut film made by a director who is hungry and more than ready to show us something we haven't seen before. Patterson does have a history in commercial work, so his stunning control of the wide angle frame (at least mostly in the first 20 minutes) isn't a surprise there. But what glued me in was how he had his two main actors (Horowitz and McCormick) deliver the rather lengthy and bordering on but not quite Nerd-screwball dialog, with speed and naturalism (I'm reminded of how Barry Sonnenfeld in interviews lately for his new book said he directs actors to talk faster so they're more realistic on camera and Patterson has that same impulse, but I digress).
What's marks that whole opening, leading up to when Evrett gets on the phone and on the air with that first caller who gives some... Perspective about that strange frequency or what have you that alarms Fay so much, is that the camera feels like another roaming character, but focused on these two as Everett brings Fay along and we immediately know who they are and what their connection is (or could be after some more time); he's cool, she's a bit more nerdy and inquisitive, but Patterson makes it feel like a mini-Altman film, with shots that linger a little longer than we're used to. At the same time he makes his own, unique aesthetic as he follows the two of them on their nighttime walk and talk, mostly not getting too close but so this dialog feels ethereal somehow.
That opening first act - which was one of the times in 2020 since the pandemic I really felt saddest I couldn't experience this in a theater (not to mention the expressive sound design, which is exceptional and creative and drives the idea of communication tools that is a theme of his film, on a McLuhan level) - is so good that the rest of the film cant quite live up to it. Don't get me wrong at all, the story that unfolds as these two kids with ambition and drive and a simple question of "what is going ON?" go on in this night to find out the origin of this signal, is captivating...
But it also turns a bit more into a filmed radio drama, with two (very well performed) monologues by that aren't shot with quite the same level of formal originality as before. And the ending is in a way disappointing simply because it's like the air is let out of the balloon and what we might obviously expect to happen comes to be. I also didn't care for the framing device of it being a "Paradox" theater production with a Serling voice to start it... I mean, we KNOW, dude. Dont remind us this would probably make for a better 35-40 minute Twilight Zone episode.
All the same, if you like your sci-fi with a bit less anxiety than what JJ Abrams puts out there, or want something by a director who has a real voice and knows how to turn the camera into a nearly spectral presence a times - that one shot that just glides over most of the town is incredible - one can overlook the slightly lost potential in the characters once the plot kicks in. I absolutely look forward to what this director does next (and these writers too while we're at it) as it's quite a compelling calling card.
What's marks that whole opening, leading up to when Evrett gets on the phone and on the air with that first caller who gives some... Perspective about that strange frequency or what have you that alarms Fay so much, is that the camera feels like another roaming character, but focused on these two as Everett brings Fay along and we immediately know who they are and what their connection is (or could be after some more time); he's cool, she's a bit more nerdy and inquisitive, but Patterson makes it feel like a mini-Altman film, with shots that linger a little longer than we're used to. At the same time he makes his own, unique aesthetic as he follows the two of them on their nighttime walk and talk, mostly not getting too close but so this dialog feels ethereal somehow.
That opening first act - which was one of the times in 2020 since the pandemic I really felt saddest I couldn't experience this in a theater (not to mention the expressive sound design, which is exceptional and creative and drives the idea of communication tools that is a theme of his film, on a McLuhan level) - is so good that the rest of the film cant quite live up to it. Don't get me wrong at all, the story that unfolds as these two kids with ambition and drive and a simple question of "what is going ON?" go on in this night to find out the origin of this signal, is captivating...
But it also turns a bit more into a filmed radio drama, with two (very well performed) monologues by that aren't shot with quite the same level of formal originality as before. And the ending is in a way disappointing simply because it's like the air is let out of the balloon and what we might obviously expect to happen comes to be. I also didn't care for the framing device of it being a "Paradox" theater production with a Serling voice to start it... I mean, we KNOW, dude. Dont remind us this would probably make for a better 35-40 minute Twilight Zone episode.
All the same, if you like your sci-fi with a bit less anxiety than what JJ Abrams puts out there, or want something by a director who has a real voice and knows how to turn the camera into a nearly spectral presence a times - that one shot that just glides over most of the town is incredible - one can overlook the slightly lost potential in the characters once the plot kicks in. I absolutely look forward to what this director does next (and these writers too while we're at it) as it's quite a compelling calling card.