Coherence

What makes this movie so effective is the contrast between it’s minimalistic setting, and the complexities of it’s mind-challenging plot. Four couples gather together for a dinner party, mid-way through the dinner a power outage occurs, the idea that a passing comet in the sky may have caused it, leads the group down a disorienting path of multiverses, confusion, and panic. With a reported budget of only $50,000 it excels at making use of what it’s got, and James Ward Byrkit’s calculated directing makes you feel as if you’re experiencing this night with them.

A truly unique movie experience is enhanced with the knowledge that these 8 actors were all selected for their improvisational skills, and that the “script” for this film was a short 12 page treatment that instead of lines, provided only information on the personalities of their characters, what they think and why they think it. This unconventional method breathes added life and authenticity to the film, each character acting, or reacting, as people presumably would in reality. Think of it as a meta-physical “who dunnit?”, however instead of a murder, the task for the audience is figuring out what reality the characters are in, and how to escape their Twilight Zone-Esque surroundings.

Directed By: James Ward Byrkit

Starring: Emily Foxler, Maury Sterling

Runtime: 89 minutes Year Released: 2013