Flashback

Flashback certainly isn’t perfect, and despite the effort it took to fully immerse myself in the narrative in a way that made sense, there is something admirable about the message it wants to put out in the world.

This pulpy multiverse brain-teaser is reasonably compelling to watch – at least in this reality. In another, it’s straight to video garbage, and in yet another, it’s won the Palme d’Or.

And it mostly doesn’t quite work, because Fred, as written by MacBride and played by Dylan O’Brien, just isn’t a compelling character.

The movie’s pileup of dislocating side-swipes from any tangible here/now is intriguing and well-crafted to a degree many genre fans will find exciting. But others will be justified in wondering if all this stylish, increasingly frenetic sleight-of-hand obscures scant substance.

This will probably sound a bit strange, but even in the face of things the film does well, and that are merely interesting, Flashback never seems interested in breaking the barrier of the common, and doesn't benefit from a good theme, so it ends up completely stagnant after a while. I did not find it dreadful or anything like that, but there's nothing to highlight either.

This movie hits the ground running and expects that you are ready without questions during its hour and thirty six minute runtime. The problem is I have nothing but questions after watching it. It’s atmosphere and filming aesthetic are rich and compelling, but the meandering storytelling isn’t. I won’t spoil it, there is an interesting and fresh take on what “time” is that I found momentarily compelling here. My biggest problem with the movie is it’s one that try’s hard at times to hit that sweet spot where the dialogue has weight as if it’s being carved in stone while it’s being delivered on screen, but the devices used to move the plot forward come off as cliché and obvious. You also don’t really have time to build a relationship with any of the characters, but the movie is always leaning into the absolutely creepy vibe they achieved and it put me on edge the entire time I was watching. I’m not sure that I cared that I was missing character development until after I was done viewing it. You hardly get much backstory for the lead yet you are thrown in different situations that don’t always connect to the main thrust of the story that you are guided through. All of that said I still enjoyed it. It got a very big reaction from me at the end that I didn’t expect. The melancholy score really helped with that. The movie is very nicely put together on the whole, beautiful even at certain points to look at. I don’t know who I’d recommend this for as I don’t think I’ll ever watch it again, but if you want to be mildly chilled without any real scares I’d check this out.

it isnt really good... doesnt make much sense and its really not a movie i recommend

The whole movie is just an excuse for some political PSA. The protagonist is a complete mess the entire movie, until at the end he starts listening to his single mother, his wife (Karen by name and by personality) and his **** female boss, and he immediately gets a happy end.