WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Research. Findings. Experimentations. Results. So much of who we are as human beings, how we’re wired, is steeped in curiosity and a drive to seek the unknown, to explore that which can be both frightening and titillating at the same time. However, with this sense to learn new truths and then test out what we’ve discovered, the ends sometime don’t always turn out for our benefit. With a highly astute and ambitious intellect, a physicist, Bill (Mark Balunis), faces his best friend (Robert Sean Campbell) with anxious yet purposeful excitement in realizing that their own explorations have come up with a new energy source capable of sustaining the world for an infinite timeframe. It’s the creation of a lifetime.
Yet, there is hesitations on the part of his friend, whose concerns about the facets of their product–it’s stability, true potency, and other worries–might be a warning sign that things should not progress to actual deployment. Knowing the literal profit to be had from their project, Bill desires more answers and explanations. It soon becomes apparent that his partner’s unease may have larger ramifications than first believed, as their newfound energy source has potentially become much more than the sum of its parts, and exponentially destructive. Thinking the company funding the project might be covering up an even more radical achievement, the two choose to go to the place where this extraordinary phenomenon is purported to exist, encountering unforeseen trouble.
Next, my Mind:
Navigating the concept of reaching for revolutionary, pioneering invention while also emphasizing the overt danger in pushing too far and unintentionally initiating a much worse construct, writer/director/co-producer Mark Schwab’s 11-minute cautionary sci-fi tale carries itself solidly and with decent payoff. Being frank, the overall themes here aren’t in and of themselves new ground, and this reviewer cannot say it was a totally engaging project as a viewer. Yet, perhaps, this was because I felt like I wanted this to be more a feature film than short film, able to more greatly explore deeper realities the premise ultimately reveals and the impact it has on the two primary characters. There are bigger depths that could be plumbed, but this is no fault being placed on the filmmakers as much as perhaps this just came across as more proof of concept, visually and otherwise, than a full (even if short) self-contained narrative for me. I can appreciate what is being aimed for creatively without question, and fully understand other constraints. Still, it seemed somewhat incomplete.
Balunis as Bill was done well, as he certainly embodies the image and presence of a haggard yet gifted, intelligent scientist whose lust for advanced knowledge might only be trumped by the thought of his co-discovery being worth the substantial amount of money it is. Yet, his own innate curiosity and need to validate the final product, while not unexpected, also becomes his downfall and leads to other issues for his partner. Campbell as Bill’s cohort and fellow scientist is also executed with good delivery as a man whose inner excitement at the duo’s success is masked, or perhaps flat out snuffed out, by the greater hesitations caused by what their little experiment has actually yielded. Despite this, and wanting to substantiate what they’ve truly unleashed, his unsettling experience in doing so marks just the beginning of what could be a much greater adventure, or terrifying actuality, he is now living. The two actors together play off each other credibly here, too, giving the film it’s more grounded, real-world feel beyond its grander, fantastical possibilities.
In total, “Thin Places” is by no means a failure, please don’t misunderstand my comments above. It’s just a little frustrating to see a sci-fi story so filled with promise and untapped potential have to be bottled up in an 11-minute format when it’s prospects and capacities reach so far beyond this limitation. Here is hoping down the road that Schwab and company have the chance to turn concept into full, feature-length glory.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
