American sci-fi film "The Connection": reviews, plot, actors and roles

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Sci-fi and thriller fans will certainly be impressed by James Ward Byrkit's extraordinary film. The author of the film "Communication" (2013) managed to present the story in such a way that some of its fragments remain in the memory for a long time and make you think about a lot.

Preparing for filming

The director and screenwriter of the project Birkit approached the preparation of the filming process with all responsibility. Being not far from the theatrical environment, he decided to shoot a picture without a large crew, special effects and detailed dialogue.

In his sci-fi film "Communication", the cinematographer made a special bet on the improvisation of the actors involved in it and, looking ahead, we can say that his hopes were justified. It is noteworthy that the main shooting took place directly in the director's house.

The plot of the film "The Connection"

A young girl named Emily pays a visit to longtime friends Mike and Lee. There are already other guests in the house who have gathered for a joint dinner. Shortly before this, the main character (in the film "The Connection" Emily Foxler took on this role) is faced withan inexplicable phenomenon - the screen of her mobile phone suddenly cracks. Subsequently, it turns out that this problem happened not only to her. The company discusses a remarkable event: "Miller's comet" will fly over the Earth this night, and there are rumors that this could turn into some mysterious occurrences.

The assumption of friends comes true - the electricity goes out in the house, and after that all the heroes are faced with a mystical discovery. It turns out that right outside the window there is a house in which exactly the same company sits, or to be more precise, the same company. That is, very close to them are the “second they”, who consider themselves no less unique, and are also shocked by the turn of events that happened.

Reactions and reviews of the film "The Connection"

Viewers and critics reacted very positively to the release of the project. The authoritative site Rotten Tomatoes, replete with professional reviews, gave the film a rating of 85%, which is considered a very impressive result. James Ward Byrkit won Best Screenplay in the year of its premiere at the Austin Fantastic Film Festival.

The Bond received positive reviews at the Sitges Film Festival, where it won the screenplay award and the Youth Jury Prize. In turn, the Fantastic Film Festival in Amsterdam awarded the thriller the Black Tulip for best directorial debut.

Long start

The project is almost unknown among a wide audience and its main audience turned out to be devoted fansgenre. Why did this happen? There are many significant reasons for this. First of all, it should be noted that popular Hollywood stars did not participate in the filming, there was practically no advertising campaign, and the plot from the first frames seems incomprehensible and even boring. The chamber atmosphere created by the director does not promise a dynamic development of the story, but later makes you feel like a direct participant in the whole action.

Birkit decided to shoot his fantastic thriller in pseudo-documentary style, but periodically deviated from the given genre, which can somewhat discourage the viewer. The plot also turned out to be ambiguous: either it keeps you in suspense, or it goes slowly and even dragged out. It is worth noting that there is no bright and memorable soundtrack in the film, although it could bring a lot of dynamics and intrigue to the overall course of the story.

Meaning

If you delve into the details of the plot, the idea that the author was trying to lay becomes clear. We are talking about the struggle of evil with good, which in one ratio or another are present in each of us. It becomes clear that one of the parties wins - depending on the development of events, and even the most seemingly insignificant details can radically change our behavior, character and personality.

After an indistinct start, the picture is steadily gaining momentum and, with varying degrees of success, holds it until the very end. Some viewers were dissatisfied with the ending, scolding him for some predictability andevidence. This fact, of course, does not leave a stunning effect on viewing. Nevertheless, the overall impression remains positive, because the story raised many interesting questions and gave serious food for thought. Each viewer can think about their secret fears, put themselves in the place of the main characters - this feature is noted in many reviews of the film "Communication".

Actors

There are no Hollywood stars of the first category in this film, but many moviegoers and TV series fans can see familiar faces in it. First of all, we are talking about Nicholas Brandon, who played Xander for several seasons in the popular 90s project Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In the film "The Connection" (2013), the actor's character mentions that he once played in a very popular series - from the first series to the very end, but his new acquaintance, who is a fan of the project, cannot remember this character. There is a certain irony in this, because after filming in the serial film by Joss Whedon, Brandon's career definitely began to decline.

The main female role in the thriller is played by Emily Foxler, who has also been involved in such projects as "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past", "Grizzly Park", "How I Met Your Mother".

Maury Sterling starred in many popular TV series, and attentive viewers will be able to remember him for his work in Homeland, ER, Lie to Me and some others.

Also starred in the thriller are Elizabeth Gracen ("Charmed"), Alex Manoogian ("Rango"), Hugo Armstrong(“Think Like a Criminal”) and others.

Result

Despite a long start, not the most brilliant acting and a rather predictable ending, about 15 minutes after the first frames, the picture looks pretty easy. The tape is declared as science fiction, but reviews of the film "The Connection" indicate that the result is a psychological thriller, and the rest of the interweaving of genres is already secondary. The plot will make you wonder if there is a dark side in us and whether it prevails right now.