Lapsis

Lapsis is one of those films that makes you think. One that will be a classic in time due to its quirkiness and story. The normal story of a many named ray who joins a mysterious company that pulls cables for the quantum computer. It starts off normal until he starts to notice things and unravels a mystery that drives you deep. The cast and director both did great. Its a well written and acted film that although strange it makes fun a fun watch.

In an near-future verion of New York, a technological revolution has begun via quantum computing. To lay the network for this computing, however, still requires physical labor as miles of cabling must be laid down for the infrastructure. Enter Cablr, the company providing the opportunity for just that at suspiciously high rates. Ray Tincelli, skeptical of the new technology, is forced to obtain a shady permit and buy into it due to the increasingly unaffordable costs of his half brother's medical care.

A seemingly straightforward story of a man working hard to care for his family, the decision to interlace a mystery of who Lapsis is gives the movie depth and intrigue as Ray tries to work both problems at once. An obvious allegory for super companies like Amazon and Wal-Mart and their business practices as they pertain to how they treat their employees, Lapsis can be viewed as cautionary tale. The balance of power that begins to shift in the film could signal a herald in our own times due to the growing dissatisfaction of working conditions in America and abroad.

One of the strong suits of Lapsis is its lack of big name stars. To that end, Dean Imperial makes for a perfect lead in the film. As Ray, a man who's seemingly a step behind in life and constantly a step behind in figuring out the mystery of Lapsis, Imperial plays the perfect Vintage New Yorker. Ray takes advantages of the situations handed to him and isn't afraid to cause a little malfeasance when need be; with his affable easygoing nature and questionable fashion sense, he'd be right at home with the characters in The Sopranos. Still, Ray has a tenderness to him as well, especially in the treatment of his younger brother. Madeline Wise is excellent as Anna, the wily old vet of the company who links up with Ray about halfway into the movie. Strongly opinionated about the company, and capitalism in general, Anna serves as the moral compass for the film. Wise does great with the material she's given and the relationship between her and Imperial plays well and has a natural charm to it.

Written and directed by Noah Hutton, Lapsis makes every possible use of its limited budget to tell an intriguing, engaging story that touches on topics of class differential, corporate manipulation, and the strength of family bonds. Shot in a mere few weeks, the production and camerawork are commendable, bolstered by the behind the scenes featurette also included with the home release. Hutton keeps the pacing of the story moving at a nice clip; with a 108 minute runtime, the movie sails by, especially once Ray gets into the forest and starts laying cable.

Overall, Lapsis is a slickly told, entertaining film that utilizes the trappings of science fiction to tell a larger story of greed, both corporate and personal. At a time where the dangers of capitalism and exploitation of workers is becoming increasingly prevalent, Noah Hutton's story could be considered contemporary no matter what time period it was set in. Solid direction, solid acting, and a great use of a small budget ensures that while not making huge waves in the genre, Lapsis will still be considered a worthy cult film. If you're looking for a sci-fi movie that's a bit off the beaten trail, Lapsis is available on digital and home release on May 11th.

I also watch almost anything SF. Problem is, most ostensible SF is SF in name only, what used to be disparaged as "sci-fi" in the SF community.

True SF is about ideas, not just mindless action sheathed in sci-fi trimmings. That is why, even with the compulsion to watch almost anything that may possibly be SF, we are mostly disappointed, so much so that being disappointed becomes the default expectation.

So, indeed, Lapsis surprisingly exceeds these expectations. It takes an idea and runs with it. That it may not comport "realistically" with actual cable laying is beside the point. We explore the "idea" and its ramifications, and this exploration is enjoyable and engaging.

That is what SF is about...so perhaps being pleasantly surprised in this manner inflates the rating a little bit, but if the grading is on a curve, it is well-deserved.

The concept of the story was really innovative with lots of commentary on gig economy workers. And how they're often taken advantage of. But I think much of the film was supposed to be satire. And if it was, it failed at making that clear. There were so many absurdities and plot holes that would have been fine if it was clear that it was satire. But it was always hard to tell.

Coincidentally, the week before seeing this, I watched Ordinary People (one of my favorite films) from 1980. It starred a young Timothy Hutton, who would go on to be the father of the director of this movie. Small world.

Ultimately, a nice try. But it needs a tone that's a little more clear.

Ok, so it's a scifi, but really it's a commentary on how technology controls humans for work and every day life. Coming from the UK, the country with the highest surveillance in the world, as well as having the situation off being unfairly charged 20,000 dollars for an education course that was supposed to be free, and which contributed to me leaving the UK because I could only ever talk to call center guys that new nothing, it seemed very relevant and powerful.

But back to the film. The characters are great, the story build intrigue and it was an original concept. Glad I watched it. Not great for action and it's not futuristic. Some avenues of the plot seemed unexplored, but I recommend it to educated adults, especially cynical adults. Definitely not for kids and not a fun movie. Could have been dull if the actors had been rubbish, but they weren't.

Watch this if you are interested in the effects modern society has on us, and like scifi which is a commentary on modern times. Original and really quite daring to so such a film which doesn't revolve around holywood cliches nor is arty or avante guarde.