FOE at the New York Film Festival

by Jason Godbey

It’s 2065 and the earth is slowly but surely dying. Hen (Saoirse Ronan) and husband Junior (Paul Mescal) are faced with this harsh reality when a mysterious stranger (Aaron Pierre) arrives one night to draft Mescal into a new space station initiative that will take him away from his wife for more than a year.

To call director Garth Davis’s depiction of the not-too-distant future bleak would be an understatement, but there’s a beauty to be seen in the dying world. The barren landscapes of what used to be farmland are reminiscent of Mad Max: Fury Road only as if it were directed by Terrenece Malik. The themes of loneliness and isolation are visualized by aerial shots of long swaths of land with no life in sight.

Make no mistake, this is a character-driven piece propelled by three superb performances. Sparks fly off the screen, charged by Ronan and Mescal as the isolated couple and Pierre as the interloper who disrupts their lives.

Although fixed with the trappings of a sci-fi dystopian future and some truly stunning imagery, like all great science fiction, it is a thought-provoking exploration of the human condition. It’s a relationship drama that questions the nature and power of love, commitment, childhood dreams and adulthood regret.

Check your local listings for a release date. This is one is definitely worth checking out especially for the performances.

Posted in Tagged film festival, entertainment news, film festival, movies movie review

Originally published at https://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com on October 5, 2023.