Michael Felker’s Things Will Be Different is excellent high-concept patient science fiction that revels in layers and mystery. Yet the real strength of the film is in the dynamic and performances of the two leads—a promising debut that will have you wanting to keep a keen eye on Felker in the future.
When estranged siblings Joseph (Adam David Thompson) and Sidney (Riley Dandy) rendezvous at a local diner after a close-call robbery, they hightail it to an abandoned farmhouse that transports them to a different time to escape the law. Their getaway is derailed when an unknown and cryptic metaphysical force emerges, preventing them from returning home. Trapped on the puzzling plot of land, their captor clarifies that no one can leave until their deadly demands are met.
Editor/Writer/Director Michael Felker hasn’t stepped too far from the Benson and Moorhead tree with his debut feature Things Will Be Different. Taking a similar dense lo-fi science fiction route is always a tough route to navigate as a filmmaker, and even bolder for a debut, yet Felker (former editor of some Benson and Moorhead films) manages extremely well with making you think you know what is going on.
However, that only gets you so far as you realise you are still left in the dark with proceedings. Where he doesn’t quite match Benson and Moorhead’s “level” is that Things Will Be Different always feels as if it is keeping its audience at arm’s length. Giving us pieces, but never enough to fully grasp everything presented. With Benson and Moorhead, they were able to give us these complex metaphysical wonders but, importantly, keep the audience on their side by feeding just enough. There is a tendency throughout the film to answer little and ask more, which can be frustrating. That said, this could be a cause of a film allowing you to connect the dots more with every viewing.
With complex films like Things Will Be Different, there needs to be a bit of give and take with audiences. While there is a slight struggle with that here, having his two leads anchor the film benefits it incredibly. Adam David Thompson and Riley Dandy are what make Things Will Be Different succeed as well as it does. With all the science fiction chaos coming at us, their grounded characters and performances are what keep you hooked. It is their relationship that invests you. There is an apparent tension between the two, even if Sidney shrugs off past injustices done to her by Joseph, and with all those unresolved issues permeating to the surface the longer their stay in the house goes on.
Adam David Thompson and Riley Dandy fully embody their roles as the estranged duo, delving deep into the meaty relationship issues mentioned earlier. By stripping away the film’s visual science fiction elements, we can focus more on their relationship and how it strains as the siblings’ situation unfolds. Yet, their convincing portrayal of their struggles in this inter-dimensional maze they’ve trapped themselves in creates a suspenseful grip that lingers even after the film’s credits have rolled. This is a film that will leave you actively wanting to watch it again, eager to uncover more of its layers.
You are so engaged with the film that you will spew out theory after theory as the minutes go by, often adjusting your theory to suit the new information presented. It’s not a mind-melter, but you do have to concentrate on what you are seeing. Will those theories match up by the film’s end? If so, well done for being far smarter than me.
Things Will be Different opens in select cinemas and on VOD nationwide on Friday, October 4th.
★★★★
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