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★★★
Directed by: #IsaacEzban
Written by: #ScottBlaszak
Starring: #AmlAmeen, #MartinWallström, #GeorgiaKing, #MarkOBrien
In science-fiction, a familiar plot is one that revolves around ordinary people discovering something extraordinary and making the foolish decision to use it for personal gain. There have been many ambitious takes on this storyline, and unfortunately, Isaac Ezban’s Parallel is not one of them. However, while the film may not subvert many expectations, it succeeds where it needs to, and ends up an enjoyable and at times gripping experience. A group of friends and developers are struggling to get their new parking app off the ground. Devin (Ameen) and Noel (Wallström) have just been given an impossibly tight deadline; Leena (King) is frustrated that she has only been able to put her artistic talents to use creating logos; and Josh (O’Brien) is preoccupied with his barren love life. After a heated discussion unearths a previously hidden section of their house, the group discovers a mirror that leads to the multiverse. It seems to be the perfect solution but, inevitably, creates more problems than it solves, and leads the friends down a path of suspicion, deception and obsession. What makes Parallel work in spite of its predictable plot – because of course, the decision to use alternate universes to their advantage is a bad one – are the performances of the four leads. The film is essentially an ensemble piece, and each actor bounces off the others in a natural, believable way, that lends the film some welcome levity and an emotional core, which is only undercut by some unnecessary romantic tension. The strongest part is Devin’s arc, which begins with the discovery of diaries left behind by a woman who travelled through the mirror, hoping that people who die in one universe may survive in another. Having lost his father (David Harewood), he decides to search for him rather than help his friends with their plans. Ameen’s performance bolsters some of the film’s most important scenes. Another notable element is Karim Hussain’s cinematography. Characters are constantly reflected in mirrors, or framed off-centre in close-ups, leaving enough empty space for another person. A shot towards the beginning of the film, of an elderly woman descending a staircase, sees the camera pressed close against a wall, as though implying there may be something on the other side. There are problems – a strange, almost fish-eyed lens in the film’s opening section lends it an odd warped look which, if intentional, misses the mark – and while the use of blue colour-grading in the alternate universes versus natural lighting in the ‘real’ one is hardly an inspired choice, there are moments where it pays off. Add to that some surprisingly gruesome effects, and we end up with a film that, visually at least, is always interesting. Parallel is good fun and goes at a breakneck pace, and while it may seem strange to say that a film relies too much on its genre, this is certainly the case here. Blaszak’s script insists on introducing advanced technologies from other universes imported through the mirror. When it trusts its characters and their stories, and the psychological and moral implications of their decisions, it is a lot stronger. From Josh’s terrified confusion over the course of events to Leena’s quandary surrounding her artistic principles, the human moments shine brightest. The rest is a predictable sci-fi romp. On DVD and digital 14 June
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