Backwards Faces

As my title suggests, this is a very entertaining movie by any standards, rather than just "for a low budget indie movie". I've seen plenty of $100M+ movies by major studios with major stars that aren't nearly as good.

I literally googled "best new sci-fi movies streaming now" and this is one of the first ones that came up. I heartily agree.

You know from the description that it deals with parallel universes, and I won't spoil it by saying much more, but it's original, funny, and mind-bending.

I can't find a budget anywhere, but it's hard to imagine it could be more than a few thousand dollars. It only has two actors and all takes place in one apartment. The minor special effects could be done these days with free video editing tools. I'm guessing they just ordered pizzas instead of springing for craft services.

In spite of that, it doesn't look cheap at all. It looks very polished and professional in the acting, the blocking, and the framing of the scenes. This is somewhat surprising given that this is the ONLY IMDB credit not only for the two actors, but for the writer/director/editor as well.

The choice to render it in black and white could have (should have?) come across as pretentious, but it doesn't.

It's bit on the short side, but I'm OK with that. Too many movies pad things out because they feel they just MUST get to 90 minutes - or these days, sometimes 2 to 3 hours. This got the job done and exited without wearing out its welcome.

I really hope we'll be seeing more of these folks in the future.

I watched this film on the recommendation of my small town newspaper. I'm not typically a sci-fi fan, but I found this film novel, funny, and overall a smart sci-fi comedy. Actors Morra and Sickles are expressive enough to play several characters. Ken comes off sort of dumb, so his interactions with the quick-witted and brilliant Sydney (a perfect foil) made me laugh. The end blew me away. Don't blink or you might miss a joke, as they come quickly.

Cons: I expected a low-budget film set in one location with just two actors, and these expectations were met. If that seems too bare-bones, and you prefer a colorful big budget film, you might not love this movie. However, I am impressed with the special effects and production of such a low-budget film.

Saw the trailer for this on Letterboxd a few weeks ago and decided to give it a watch when it came out. I liked the comedy + scf-fi melding and thought it could be up my alley as someone who enjoys indie cinema quite a lot. It exceeded every expectation I had. It is clearly shot on a low budget but it is not something you really notice or care about once the characters start talking. The dialogue is incredible, the performances are amazing, and the story is really well written. It is not the type of film that is going to blow you away with camera moves and special effects but it is definitely going to make you question your own existence and what it means to be alive and to be a person which I think is wayyyy better. I loved it and I think anyone who wants something with a little more wit and a little more brains than your average mainstream sci-fi will love it too.

From the opening scene, I was completely captivated by the clever and witty dialogue. The actors were both fantastic and I found myself fully absorbed in the story. I went into this movie totally blind and loved the ride!

I was so impressed by the quality of the writing and acting that I have to watch it again! I'm sure there were many great lines that I missed the first time around.

Overall, this indie gem exceeded all of my expectations. It was clear that every detail had been carefully crafted to create a cohesive and engaging story. Such a joy to watch!

A unique and 10/10 indie film!!!!

IN A NUTSHELL: Here's the summary from the studio: After waking from a meaningless one-night stand, theoretical physicist Sydney (Lennon Sickels) wants to leave but cannot help but stay when her mysterious and aloof one-night partner, Ken (Andrew Morra), claims he is from a different universe. Theoretical physics becomes a lot less theoretical when Ken tells her the solution to all life's problems exists within the alleged traversable wormhole through space and time in his bathroom. Self-loathing is taken to a new extreme when Sydney and Ken are forced to reckon with the very worst of their other selves from across the multiverse.

THINGS I LIKED: The cerebral film was written, directed, and produced by Chris Aresco. Congrats to him on his many award nominations. He has done work in both film and TV.

I had never seen either actor in anything before this two-hander. Lennon Sickels and Andrew Morra have great potential. You might recognize Andrew for his performance in Season 9 of FX's American Horror Story.

It's difficult to hold an audience's attention when only two actors are on screen and in the same location during the entire movie. The conversation is captivating enough to do so.

I love it when movies reference other movies. This one refers to my all-time favorite time-loop movie: Groundhog Day!

Some of the banter is very entertaining. It makes you feel like you've just engaged in a philosophical boxing match. Theoretical physicists will, surely, get a kick out of the scientific ideas tossed around in the dialogue.

Do real diamonds fog up when you breathe on them? It was talked about so much in the movie that I had to look it up! As it turns out, a real diamond WILL fog but clear up within one or two seconds; whereas, a fake diamond will stay foggy. Hmmm...good to know!

There's a time stamp that lets us see how much time has passed between segments. That's an effective element since time is one of the major themes of the film.

Some of the editing choices are amusing...in a good way!

This would make for a fun stage play on college campuses.

The movie's tone assumes you're smart and can understand things like quantum mechanics. It never talks down to the audience.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Some of the dialogue is witty. Other times, it's not as clever as it thinks it is.

Lennon Sickels talks WAY too fast. Sometimes, it's hard to understand what she says, which is a shame because her lines are so intriguing.

There are some overacted and underacted moments.

Some viewers won't like the choice the director made to film in black and white. The movie poster leads you to believe the movie will be in color. In fact, using those kinds of colors in the actual movie would have given the movie a very metaverse feeling!

It looks like a low-budget film.

The movie isn't quite a full, feature film, clocking in at only 68 minutes. Some viewers will be happy about that, while others will wish for more scenarios.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Kids will be extremely bored. This movie isn't appropriate for kids anyway because of crude conversations and the fact that strangers had a one-night stand.

The movie starts with a young couple who has a one-night stand and talks about how things went under the covers.

Lots of talk of sex.

Profanity, including F-bombs.

There is a large, crude drawing of a male's private body part.

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