|
|
PROSPECT
Directors: Christopher Caldwell and Zeek Earl Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Pedro Pascal, Jay Duplass, Andre Royo, Sheila Vand, Anwan Glover, Trick Danneker, Luke Pitzrick MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:38 Release Date: 11/2/18 (limited); 11/9/18 (wider) |
|
Review by Mark Dujsik | November 1, 2018 The writing/directing duo of Christopher Caldwell and Zeek Earl don't invent a wondrous and awe-inspiring world of the future in Prospect. They do something much more difficult: They create a world that seems real. That task is much more than one of design, although the film's production—from its effects, to its sets, to its assorted ships and weapons, to its locales, and to its costumes—is impeccable in the way that everything on display looks lived in and/or used often. The job of creating a new world that feels authentic also involves providing a story and characters to which and whom we can relate. Here, the plot is simple, revolving around a hunt for buried treasure (more or less). The characters, while just barely fitting the requirements of archetypes, are out for something as universal as it is timeless—to scrape by, while hoping for just a little bit more. It may be the future, but making a living remains a constant. At the start, it's the pair of the teenaged Cee (Sophie Thatcher) and her father Damon (Jay Duplass), two workers on a freighter that looks like a space station, who have plans to excavate precious gems on a nearby forest moon. They have a limited amount of time to mine the treasure (from the slimy insides of subterranean, worm-like creatures) before the freighter leaves. Their attempts are complicated by a pair of rapscallions, Ezra (Pedro Pascal) and his hulking but silent partner, who are stranded on the moon. After a sudden and violent standoff, Cee is left alone with Ezra, and the two—each distrusting the other for obvious reasons—have to work together to survive, to outsmart a team of mercenaries for the gems, and to find a ride back to the freighter. All of this is, perhaps, overly simplistic and sometimes confounding, since Caldwell and Earl trust us to figure out what's happening through jargon-centric dialogue and the gradual revealing of context. There's the quality of a mystery to this process, as we try to unravel the specifics of the world, its technology, and its inhabitants. The effort is both worth it and part of why the world of Prospect is so engaging. It's as much a story about how this world works as it is about a girl finding her way within it. Copyright © 2018 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
Buy Related Products
|
(for
some violence/bloody images)
