A curious little indie that is delivered through key support from Mark and Jay Duplass, with Mark taking on co-leading man duties with the game Sterling K. Brown, debut feature film director Mel Eslyn's single location dramedy Biosphere is unlike anything you've likely seen before in ways both good and bad, with this high-concept genre bending offering one that provides a varying experience that ranges from engaging to irksome, often within the space of mere minutes between each up and down.
Set entirely in a small custom designed dome that survives off regular air supply and a dwindling supply of fish in a world where the last two humans alive are Duplass's Billy and Brown's Ray, long term friends and avid Super Mario players that found their successful careers in politics cut short by a catastrophic world event that has seemingly doomed mankind's future to an inevitable conclusion.
Saying too much more about how the slowly unravelling plot unfolds in Eslyn's film would be a disservice to viewers who are in for a wild and surprising ride, with an on face value buddy dramedy film far away from the product we actually get as we start to delve into evolutionary angles and life-changing scenarios that are wild, wacky and even at times tinged with a decent emotional heft, making Biosphere an experience that will enrapture others but alienate others, pending entirely on their tolerance and acceptance of where Billy and Ray's arcs begin to head.
In a day and age where originality can often be the subject of outcries in an industry many accuse of being too cookie cutter or people pleasing, it's always refreshing to see something like Biosphere come along and attempt to shake up expectations and go where no film has yet gone and while there are elements in Eslyn's film that feel familiar, for the most part the film does a solid job of carving out it's own pathway with the commitment of Duplass and Brown undeniable as the two talented leads chew on ample dialogue and play off one another in a series of situations that could've completely derailed the film at any moment.
For a film with such a limited scope in a setting sense no one could deny that Biosphere tries to tackle a series of big issues and high reaching concepts, some of which pay off and others that don't but for anyone that wants to watch something a little outside of the normal or too be expected, Biosphere may just be their new favourite with potential cult fandom soon to come its way.
Final Say -
A film that is best left to be discovered rather than explained prior to a viewing, Biosphere doesn't stick all of its landings but there's enough going on here including two notable lead turns to suggest Biosphere is worth visiting for open-minded viewers.
2 1/2 foot massages out of 5
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)
