The Signal

I quite enjoyed this movie although the final twist was hardly a surprise for anyone who's watched episodes of the Twilight Zone or similar mysteries. Also the relationship-defining scenes between the three main characters (which were quite pleasant actually) turned out to have very little relevance once the sci-fi took over. At least the ending was reasonably satisfying and we didn't have to put up with any of that open-ended nonsense where you're left to figure out for yourself what was really going on.

This film is a headphones album. So it will only play its music to your mind if you allow its pace to ebb into your conscious. For those looking for a thrill ride, or an ounce of adrenaline; it's not this film. The manga esq style of poignancy seems to convincingly portray the fleeting expression of moments passed, remembered in perfection while actually happening. The form appears, on reflection, to play a game with this in that the protagonist is partly locked into weightless freefall in terms of his past, his memories, his future and his present. So the pace is determined by the viewers ability to be empathetic or rather simply to feel as if the characters experiences and emotions are their own. This means the audience is only ever going to be select.

This film had some really well done scenes in the way they were shot but I felt there really wasn't much interesting or engaging about it. There are moments where things can seem really nonsensical and unrealistic that made the viewing more agitating than enjoyable, which the ending really could not justify. I felt the characters lacked anything to drew you in to make you feel emotionally invested in them or what they where doing. The basis of the story has some merit to it but maybe too ambitious and not fleshed out enough in this movie. Quite disappointing.