Vesper

Vesper is a very special film. The sort of sci-fi you rarely see - one with heart, meaning, social conscience and an important message about earths future wrapped in emotional drama, stunning visuals and originality aplenty.

At the centre is Vesper herself and the whole movie hinges on the shoulders of its thirteen year old star. Raffiella Chapman turns in a nuanced performance at once both the brave heroine and fragile child. It is so accomplished a performance it's hard to believe this young actor was indeed just thirteen at the time of filming.

There is a wonderful scene where Vesper forgets her adult responsibilities and howls like a wolf with all the vigour and lack of self consciousness of a child and it's both poignant and incredibly emotional. Moments like this might feel out of place to sci-fan fans used to the action obsessed Hollywood mainstay of the genre but it is these unusual touches that make this film so unique.

Eddie Marsan is wonderful as Vesper's sinister uncle and Richard Brake terrific as Vespers ailing father, his voice given life within a drone in yet another original touch.

I've never seen anything quite like Vesper and the incredible imagery and performances will stay with me a long time. If you like your sci-fi cerebral and challenging with superb characters and world building then this is a must watch. 10/10.

This was a very refreshing movie to experience. It felt like true sci-fi. I don't know what that means exactly, lol, but watch the flick and see if you agree. The acting was great, The world building was awesome. It felt like something that could actually happen with little imagination leaping. The science and technology portrayed in the move were cool and relatively unique. The dystopian elements were captivating, leaving me thinking about it a bit, and the scenes were not overly artistic or trying too hard. Overall, it was a gem with a fresh perspective from typical Hollywood. It focused on the story, featured great effects, and presented innovative ideas while avoiding the typical clichés we often see in movies today. If you like sci-fi in general, I'd say give it a go!

So there are some reviews that give this movie a low rating because there are not enough dumb explosions and one dimensional characterisation. After sitting through so many sci fi movies with huge plot holes and mind bending science errors it's nice to see a film that is at least attempting to do something with more soul. There are complaints that it is slow but this is just because we have been brainwashed into accepting flash bang fluff made for the minuscule attention span of the average American. For me it never felt slow but considered. The acting is great, the story nothing new but well delivered and the dystopian world entirely convincing. Compared to Jordan Peele's sci fi misfire 'Nope', it's masterpiece.

I'm really surprised that this film is not more well known even though I myself had never heard of it! It has a fascinating production design with many unusual, interesting, original and beautiful special effects. The entire film is well made with a very original vision and the lead actress, a young woman named Raffiella Chapman helps a lot with a very solid performance and the rest of the principle cast is fine. This apocalyptic tale also has a very good cinematography and is well directed. It does get a little lost in the latter half though I thought it ended on a strong as well as intriguing note.