WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
A peregrination of identity. Seeking to discover exactly who we are is a journey never-ending, an almost ceaseless endeavor to ascertain every facet of our being in order to bring the whole into focus. Yet, to do so is also its own deeply enigmatic adventure, and the paths it might lead us down could spell either a cascade of fulfillment or potential avalanche of uncertainty. For time traveler A Helical (Marcus McMahon), this very road he “walks” has brought him to a new planet, yet one that has a peculiarly recognizable sense for him. As he walks through this realm, the encounters he faces present both challenges and resolutions, pushing him to his limits to the point of acknowledging that he’s learned much of what he’s sought–and yet hasn’t even scratched the surface.
Next, my Mind:
It’s a travelling of unconventional roads, filled with surrealism, existential contemplations, philosophical conceptions, and some good old fashioned, make-you-think-about-it sci-fi wonder which permeates the atmosphere of this 30-minute short film effort from writer/director/producer/actor McMahon. Deftly navigating the arenas of much more “heady” and intelligent sci-fi akin to, in general intent, such theatrical giants as “Inception”, “Arrival“, or “Annihilation” or perhaps a fellow indie effort such as “The Bestowal“, McMahon’s study of one individual’s ongoing pursuit of who he was, who he is, and who he could aspire and evolve to be carries its weighty ruminations in such a way so as not to be too far “out there” while yet maintaining the foundational avant-garde style the best films of the indie genre often present.
Watching as the character comes across the eccentrically creative beings he does while searching for the answers that elude him only serves to allow the narrative to build and widen in scope, bringing a clearer illustration of the conflicting emotional responses to each circumstance he experiences that then cause him to assess his own purpose and meaning. Likewise confronting what he has left behind, his present offers a wandering through the myriad of ever-shifting spaces that are his own conscious and internal chambers of reality, trying to seek that way out, the ideal passageway to the higher enlightenment he aims to achieve and ascend to after all the wearying roaming we infer he’s endured.
But, as with any pursuit worth its ultimate goal and, we pray, associated insight and awakening it engenders, there are those elements that would seek to hinder our obtaining such wisdom, and this is, I felt, cleverly entertained here through what makes up the character’s ultimate barrier to overcome and that leads to an interestingly enigmatic finale that carries both the satisfaction of conclusiveness while also opening the door to infinite possibilities of what his next step actually extends to him, as we more than get the notion this fantastical crusade for knowing self has only just begun. It’s a testament of human willpower and the tenacity to let nothing stand in your way when it comes to that which you desire to know, and how that’s portrayed here is highly artistic and uncommon, yet relatable.
Visually the film is lush and stimulating, executed with both an old-style and more modernistic approach to the universe its narrative takes place in, giving us both the cosmic elements we would expect in most forms of sci-fi while also keeping certain sequences more realistic and grounded in form, simply adding in the more imaginative, fanciful imagery as needed to emphasize its themes when necessary. This is to say that I actually very much enjoy when sci-fi proves it doesn’t ALL have to take place “in space” and involve what could be seen as some of the more “cliché” factors associated with the genre in order to be GOOD or accepted. I say it often–it’s the magic of indie film’s thinking outside the box that allows this more original creativity to be utilized to such a wonderfully refreshing degree. And Stephen Richardson’s music score speaks for itself, as it is THE quintessential synth-based effort one longs to hear with a film of this nature.
McMahon does a fine job in stepping out from behind the camera to bring us the character of A Helical, a quite normal looking bloke who’s much more than he appears thanks to the evident way he travals and the relative insights he carries within him while taking in this newest locale he’s come upon in his journey. Curious (possibly, by conjecture, to a fault at times, perhaps?), he strides forth to gather what he can from the world so as to bring his self-seeking to a higher plain of understanding. Striving to gain and absorb all the nuances of everything and everyone he meets, will his fortitude in mind be enough to open the door he yearns for? It’s a subtle performance that’s filled with, as I like to often say, a quiet intensity that befits the character beautifully, and McMahon gets you invested in him from start to finish.
Supporting turns arrive from Keith Chanter as “The Big Head”, Sanna Kelly as a woman of great importance in A Helical’s life, and the grouping of Youssouph Bathily, Romel Onuoha, Rob Akin, and Alan Sharp as the primary catalysts of opposition A Helical must overcome to gain his goals. In total, “A Helical” is as stated above–a mind-bending, reality-altering, yet strangely, magnificently lucid peice of science fiction that honestly promotes a uniquely engaging dare for us to look well beyond our own surface perceptions of existence that we might discover a new sense of inward self-examination, perhaps finding that larger realm of comprehension we’ve never even realized we’d been searching for.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
