NO TRAILER CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
First, the Recap:
To breed success, sometimes, sacrifices must be made. Both a blessing and a curse when applied to many facets of endeavors taken on by individuals or corporations, it almost always comes down to one additional statement–“it’s for the benefit of SO many people”. Hence, the actual cost of what is being achieved COULD be worth it. However, when those who are in control utilize this notion to take on far shadier dealings for the sake of perceived “triumph”, what is the REAL price that is being paid? And by whom?
At a highly thriving pharmaceutical company, an unscrupulous top shareholder and developer named Edgar (Jeremy Piven) manipulates the company CEO Olivia (Sarika Young), strong-arming her to comply with the deeply veiled but blatantly disturbing exploits being carried out on a daily basis, all in the name of treatments, not cures. But, when the combination of an incarcerated young man named Noah (Matthew O’Sullivan) and the company’s lead researcher Dr. Andrew Scott (Lindsay Dunn) realize what lies beneath the surface, a revelatory and ominous endgame begins.
Next, my Mind:
An emphatically edgy, darkly dramatic, unrelenting dive into the deep reassesses of scientific goals gone severely astray in the name of greed, manipulation, and the supposed “greater good”, this tense 97-minute indie thriller from writer/director/producer J G Clarke and producer David Lightfoot conveys it’s woeful tale with eerily impactful purpose and an indomitably ominous atmosphere that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let up for the entirety of its runtime. Even when we might not admit it, this critic feels we carry an innate fear of what is actually going on out in the world when it comes to those who claim to have beneficial aims, yet the carrying out of what’s necessary to accomplish them is done via diabolical means. This film is genius at exploiting such disquieting truths, doing so in a manner that captivates your attention, making it impossible to “turn away” from the harshness of what we’re absorbing, imbuing an intended intensity of dread.
Almost crossing genres by being just on the border of a certain style of horror, in my opinion anyway, the narrative delivered that takes on exploring the most shadowy facets of corporate avarice, twisted dealings, innocence lost, unnerving methodologies, and the consequences the swallow everyone involved to some degree once it’s all revealed carries itself with a beautifully executed, story and character-driven pacing that, as mentioned above, simply immerses you wholly into its air of menace and tension. Then, in tandem with a very, very well-orchestrated music score adding yet another sinister element to the film’s tone, the visual presentation primarily remains just as deliberately cimmerian as the overall mood conveyed, and it fills you as the viewer with the likewise aforementioned sense of both uneasiness and undeniable allure as the narrative drives forward unapologetically and intelligently so.
Another win for the film from the visual angle is the multitude of scenes that become far more effective by employing ” you don’t really SEE what’s transpiring” or “you KNOW what’s happening but don’t SEE it happening” designs as well as more veiled imagery that is meant TO be seen, yet not with TOTAL clarity, allowing the given moments and circumstances to either maintain their enigmatic aura or jar you with shocking impact. Admittedly, this explanation may in itself not be absolutely clear, but in watching the film itself, I believe you’ll get what I mean, and I don’t wish to enter any spoiler territory by delving in detail into any of the scenes I am alluding to above. Suffice it to say, this film IS the total package for a disturbing thriller, as I also felt that while the foundational thematic foray here isn’t “new”, it WAS a lot fresher in depicting it than I personally had seen in a while. THAT is the ongoing wonder and beauty of indie cinema done RIGHT to me.
I also found myself more than adequately satisfied with the film’s finale, as while there might be SOME aspects of it that one might predict in some form, there were other elements that honestly surprised me, and left me actually wanting more of the story! It’s an ending that’s apropos as well as open to a little taste of conjecture, which suite the nature of the film just perfectly. Truly one of the preeminent lead character actors in the industry for many, many years now, Piven unequivocally shines brightly through his role here as Edgar, the unquestionably selfish, unwaveringly threatening, and thoroughly iniquitous man in REAL control of a large pharma company whose means to “solve” the world’s problem with a certain malady is anything but above board. Conniving and conspiring with an equally unprincipled group of men at a decidedly arcane prison to gain “subjects”, Edgar’s endgame is all about the financial gain to no one else’s real gain except his own.
Whether he is able to keep control of it all as events transpire that suddenly upend his machinations is what subsequently starts to unfold, and Piven so deliciously chews scenery in every moment he is given on screen, creating that ever popular “character you love to hate” with a devilish glee and glaring emotional volatility that’s just as menacing in calmness as it is when exploding, a magnificent testament to the actor’s skills on display. Talk about an amazing film to make your, from what I can tell, feature debut in, which is what O’Sullivan appears to be taking on through his role as Noah, a young man whose heart and intentions are to be good, especially for his younger sister, but get sidelined when one mistake takes him not only to prison, but into a waking nightmare those in charge are a part of. As Noah desperately attempts to maintain his sanity, and his life, the revelations that he ends up unearthing send him hurtling down an even more uncertain path that may or may not be any better.
It’s a well-enacted performance O’Sullivan provides here, credible and filled with equal amounts of understated and ardent energy, making his character one we can not only sympathize with, but one hundred percent root for to ideally be one to expose bad deeds. Luke Patrick plays Lucas Wright, the head guard at the prison facility whose penchant for simply being overbearing in both unassuming and blatant ways is matched only by the demons within him that lead him to take unsettling actions against anyone who runs afoul of him or the master plan in play. Patrick embodies this kind of human evil with a believability that’s almost frightening in its realism, and that is another mark of the talent this film has brought to bear. Primary supporting roles arrive first from Young as the pharma company’s real CEO, who has knowledge of what’s going on yet does nothing as she’s under the thumb of Edgar’s manipulative oversight. Dunn is Dr. Scott, the company’s head researcher who is only to unhappy to discover that all the “good” work he’s been doing is being cultivated through questionable, then upon further look, deplorable actions.
Nick Buckland is Tom, the prison’s warden who has his own vested interests in play that drives him to be a part of the dire goings-on at his facility, though whether the sheer weight of the burden he is really carrying will end up breaking him or not stays in question. Eddie Morrison and Benjamin Balte are Robert and Henry, two of the “underling” guards at the prison, the former one who relishes tormenting prisoners while the latter eventually finds himself privy to more of what’s happening there than he really wanted to know. Carina Gun is Tom’s ill-stricken wife, and the focus of his obsession with what Edgar and the company are up to, even as his own conscious starts to get pricked by guilt and remorse. Clare Mansfield plays Joanne, the prison’s main nurse who also has her own seemingly apathetic viewpoint of what’s she’s a part of, as the job she has there is another that is all but unhinged, yet she carries on with no hesitations whatsoever. It’s a particularly creepy demeanor that Mansfield brings to the role that really stuck out for me amidst this stellar cast.
Additional supporting turns arrive from Brad McCarthy, Eliana McMillan, Jimmy Lyons, Marielle Intveld, Arwen Diamond, Jack Paydon, Gary George, Renee Gentle, Bart Csorba, John Rosen, Rhoda Sylvestre, Matt Connelly, Krystal Cave, Lucy Webster, Andy Steuart, Trung Le, James Dubay, Anthony Ciccotosto, Chloe Murphy, Paul Reichstein, Calin Diamond, Christian Best, and Lucas Andrews among a HOST of others. As with another recent ensemble cast-lead film, I truly extend acknowledgement to ALL the cast, as you ALL deserve to be known and appreciated! So, in total, “Numbers Lives” is a taut, potently jolting, nerve-fraying, astutely directed, well-written thriller that plumbs the dark side of Big Pharma in a manner fully suited to its narrative’s objectives, doing so with pointed resolve and striking force that lingers and reverberates within you from start to finish.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
