Please check local listings
Adam Stern, in his debut as a filmmaker, knows just how many Levels of existence there are in this multiverse. Whether that hides in the code or is answered in plain sight, that will depend on how folks will want to interpret the material offered in his movie. He not only penned the screenplay but also directed this rather smart and selective sci-fi thriller about Joe (Peter Mooney) wanting to find out who murdered Ash (Cara Gee), the love of his life, in cold blood. That’s because nothing is truly real. There are faces he recognizes during his investigation, and he doesn’t know why.
In a tale that’s inspired from movies like TRON, Inception, Free Guy and The Matrix (the special effects mostly), what’s presented focuses on an element of spirituality that’s always fascinated me–what if it’s all a simulation? But there’s also another question: who would want to kill this woman? As our hero learns there’s a secret cabal who created a virtual reality that is really indistinguishable from our own, there’s a concern: how can we escape from it? Is what’s imagined in one simulation better than another? The answer is simple: don’t get too emotionally attached.
There’s no special word or keys to allow folks to simply “jack out,” a cyberpunk term for when one can plug in to a computer controlled world. But what makes this film work is that we don’t know if Joe is just a program or if there’s a real person to whom he’s modelled after. This intrigue kept me invested, and as for whether the world we’re in just the same, that’s just something not even Shakespeare can answer when he wrote, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” What this filmmaker offers here is a tantalizing ideology, if true.
As this film is more focussed unravelling a tapestry of conspiracies, ranging from Oliver’s (David Hewlett) involvement in this whole caper, and whether having too much tech is good (Amanda Tapping is the voice of MEL, a computer system Joe interacts with at home), there’s a small nuance in this film wondered about. Why is technology everywhere? When the people here are not trying to escape from it, this world design isn’t too important. But when the fact this film says we’re all living in a simulation, there’s a certain irony to appreciate.
Ultimately, the tale is an action-adventure romance where Joe must find answers, and prevent Ash from dying all over again in the real world. It’s not Hewlett’s character, but I sense he’s God. This actor has come a long way since his Stargate: Atlantis days. Although I haven’t watched every production he’s appeared in afterwards, to see him take on a Morgan Freeman like role has my seal of approval. And to know the truth, means looking for the seventh dimensional plane, where all the safety checks (another example) take place. Numerology doesn’t factor into this tale, but it’d be fascinating had that been one of Stern’s goals. That’s because I assume level 5 (which resembles the letter S) is where this tale takes place!
This film is more concerned about showing just how star crossed this couple is. When ripped apart, the program seems broken. As for who the cops are, they aren’t simply soldiers from the Time Variance Authority. To say how it ends will ruin too much of the film, but I’d say this newcomer may well challenge Chris Nolan for thoughtful discourses concerning what is real in the world these days.
4 Stars out of 5
Levels Movie Trailer
