Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: When a group of friends gather for an ordinary dinner, a cosmic force alters the very reality around them.
Review: I've been watching and reviewing garbage for years now, but I figured it was time to go on a stretch covering nothing but good movies for a change. Starting things off, here is "Coherence." Forget low-budget--this is NO budget! This is, more or less, the ultimate demonstration that you can cobble together a quality film from nothing but good ideas and a few connections; seriously, look into the production of "Coherence" and be amazed.
Upfront, this is technically a story about multiple realities--which can turn some viewers off--but it's not the kind of thing where in one universe you are Abraham Lincoln and in another you're a gorilla. No, this is about how your choices can have a profound impact in the immediate sense. "Coherence" is probably the best depiction of the notion of a multiverse we've seen yet. All the realities we see stem from the same characters having the same dinner while a comet creates some kind of nexus of space-time. Needless to say, the situations and ideas presented are creative and clever. The many possibilities of this night are addressed with such an attention to detail that the film readily invites multiple viewings. Speaking of which...
The way the story unfolds is fun and engaging. The structure of the story is akin to the characters following breadcrumbs with a considerable amount of foreshadowing to boot. The audience watches them figure out what's happening while also seeing how variants of each character can come to certain conclusions slower or faster based on what information they have to work with or what decisions another character made. It's cool watching all the pieces fall into place or going back to see how certain things come together. Hell, the characters even suggest they are dealing with 5 million+ possibilities based on their dice rolls alone! Toward the end, the twist that the variant of Em we've followed the whole film is "dark" is awesome as she seeks a reality where the night turned out perfect. And, of course, the hints to this ending were laid out the entire time which I love.
Okay, sure, a multiverse story done right...big whoop. The real meat and potatoes that makes "Coherence" shine so brightly is the characters and the impressive improvisation from the actors. Not only does their dialogue come off as natural, but the continued banter throughout creates such a rich world where these people feel like legitimate friends. Rarely would I say to turn on the closed captioning, but it helps with a lot of the background quips and insults which you don't want to miss out on! You might recognize some of these actors, especially from '90s TV, however they came together and played off each other better than most Academy Award winners; again, let me emphasize that the majority of the dialogue is completely spontaneous with the exception of major plot points. To all the players, this was your standout work, well worthy of praise.
Of course, there are inherent flaws that come attached with having peanuts for a budget, yet, one major problem above all else is the shaky-cam. I get the approach, however, it doesn't quite jive with the story being told. Another aspect that hurts slightly are these weird scene transitions as if it was added for commercial breaks. What the hell was that? I'm sure there will be other issues viewers may find, but, once again, keep in mind that we are talking the budget of a school play here. Any other technical issues, like pacing or lighting, I think are good enough considering what the filmmakers had to work with.
I've been sitting on a review for "Coherence" for years, and it's about damn time I covered it for the blog. This is a sleeper hit with cult status written all over it. It's not a perfect movie by any means, but it's a sci-fi classic in the making. Even if this isn't the kind of movie that would interest you from a story perspective, "Coherence" should be studied from a film-making standpoint for all aspiring directors out there. Definitely check this one out--it's short and sweet and might just blow your mind along the way.
Notable Moment: When Mike tries to explain to Hugh that if there are a million different realities that he has slept with his wife in every one of them. It wasn't meant to be a joke, but, man, that had to sting!
Final Rating: 7.5/10
