The Writer-Director of Lapsis, Noah Hutton, is the savvy heir to the throne of Tim Hutton and Debra Winger, two of the Hollywood elite of the last generation. Therefore, it should by all means disqualify him from achieving any success as a Writer or Director. I should write a negative review just in the hope of stopping him from taking on a bigger and more influential presence in the film industry.
In this case, however, he is redeemed substantially by providing us with an original concept, a well-written screenplay, unknown cast and a troubling alternative universe. None of this should have happened, but because it did, Noah Hutton deserves praise for a job well done and congratulations for his bright future in this industry.
In another life, Noah might have played his parents' connections to the extent that the result would have been worthless. However, he has exceeded that level of achievement and is the pleasant recipient of an indescribable satisfaction, the kind of result that comes from a deep understanding of the nuances of story and directing, a rare achievement for a young person of any lineage.
Since I had no preconceived notions about the storyline, I went into this blindly, and was amazed that I felt as compelled as I did to follow the main plot to the end. Although none of the actors was recognizable, everyone performed their roles well, and every word that was uttered seems to have been arrived at naturally.
The basis of the story is that there is a technology known as "quantum computing" that is similar in some way to 5G and the population is similarly paranoid about it as many are about 5G towers. The way the Quantum tech is executed is through having ordinary people string cables through miles of wilderness areas to provide the access to the so-called "quantum" technology and it is up to desperate people to run the miles of cable through the wilderness to various cubes of this unknown technology -- again, very similar to 5G, albeit much more insidious.
The central character, RAY, is a chubby schulb who is hired to run cable through miles of forest, and finds out halfway through that he has been given a false name to use on the job which causes everyone to distrust him. Thus, the mystery is born. What is the significance of the name? What is the hidden cost of the technology? He undertakes a mission with a high payout, to run cables for many miles, and is slowly educated by a woman he meets on the trail named Anna, who reveals some part of the mystery what the name he was given really means.
All through the screenplay we are left trying to decode the various clues that are dropped without much success, until we reach the point where several loose threads are tied together near the end. There is a moment of triumph, but in the back of our minds, the triumph is very much a false one. The corporate entities that are the villains of the story are there, and. as in real life, they have a stranglehold on the brave new world of Lapsis.
