I have been lucky enough to see one comet in my lifetime so far and fortunately it did not come with half of the drama that faces the group of eight friends at dinner in the movie Coherence.
On the night of an astronomical anomaly namely one Miller’s comet flying through the skies, eight friends at a dinner party experience a troubling chain of reality bending events. Part cerebral sci-fi and part relationship drama, Coherence is a tightly focused, intimately shot film whose tension intensely ratchets up as its numerous complex mysteries unfold.
There are many thing to like about this movie including the fact that this is an incredibly original idea. Like all of the best sic-fi movies, what is most enjoyable to watch is the depth of the characters and the relationships between them. Good writing ensures that we understand the meaningful history between this group of eight complete with conflicts and ex boyfriends/girlfriends which add spice to the movie as the tension builds and we try and make sense of exactly what is going on. The mystery unfolds slowly, posing interesting existential questions as it does so. This married with innovative editing as each scene cuts to black often creates horror-esque tension leaving you wondering just how everything will wrap up. When you do finally get to the end of the movie, it will leave you with many questions about your own life including
Some of the things that I enjoyed most about this movie were impressive around the dinner table scenes where the conversation seemed so natural and organic as it weaved and morphed that iI almost forgot I was watching a movie and watching a fly on the wall documentary instead. In addition, the way that group think is portrayed both when faced by a problem and also how people react under severe stress and pressure was well acted and directed.
Coherence is written and directed by James Ward Byrkit and stars Nicholas Brendon, Emily Foxler, Maury Sterling, Elizabeth Gracen, Alex Manugian (who conceived of the story), Lauren Maher, Hugo Armstrong and Lorene Scafaria.
Coherence will be in theaters beginning June 20th, check local listings for show times
