“Rearrange your brain.
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.” – Letterboxd Synopsis
Science fiction, mystery, and horror are my favorite genre trifecta. All three blend well with each other, and all three can have amazing highs. I had been interested in watching this movie for some time due to its synopsis. I liked the idea of it. It’s cliché to say “it sounds like a black mirror episode.” But like I’m 25, so you know it does, but in a good way. A great way, actually, because this small, single-set, 8 cast member movie that was made on a budget of 50k, and where most of the dialogue was improvised, is one of my favorite sci-fi movies ever.
I cannot and will not spoil anything in this review because I think this is a movie that is just worth watching. Maybe even multiple viewings to appreciate the amazing foreshadowing that takes place from start to finish. What I’ll say, though, is that the plot setup is interesting. The sci-fi elements feel grounded. There are horror elements that spark from the thick tension that the way this movie is shot and framed brought about. And then as this mystery unravels, as these characters unravel, there’s something even scarier that appears. The existential dread that oozes off the screen, I felt it. I loved it.
There are 8 characters in this movie who are utilized to varying degrees. Em is definitely the lead, though, but every character is interesting. As a group of friends, they all feel like real friends who have been that for decades, who have had their ups and downs, their secrets, but still come together occasionally. The cast did such a great job portraying these characters as we’re introduced to them, portraying their history with each other, that when the situation starts to unravel and the reality of what’s going on starts to set in, there is a masterful subtlety in everything that they do that I caught most of on my first watch but might not fully appreciate until I ever watch it again.
It’s seriously impressive what can be done with a small budget and a tight vision. According to Amazon’s X-ray feature, which I accidentally pulled up while I was watching, most of the dialogue was improvised. It was shot over 5 days on a 50k budget. With all of those variables taken into account, bravo. I will say, this movie does feel like all of those things are true. There’s no way to mask it. Early on, the camera work was dizzying. I don’t think it really got better; more so, I got used to it. The lighting was pretty much the house lights, and the dialogue wavered. Improvising so much of the dialogue, I think, really allowed the actors to get into the nuance of each character; it was just very jarring because you can tell what dialogue was actually written. When it stops being so frantic and gets very focused and technical, it stands out. Also, the downside of improv, some of it is great. A lot of it in this movie was, and some of it was not. Ultimately, it added way more than not, so it became a minor gripe.
So yeah, Coherence is like an hour and a half. If you have any interest in sci-fi movies, this is a must-watch imo. As someone who always enjoys and has written many tense, intimate, character-driven enclosed scenes, this movie is a showcase of what some of the best of that can be. As I write this, I can currently only think of The Hateful 8 as another example that I loved. This was amazing to watch and one of my new favorite sci-fi movies.
Coherence – 9/10
Notes – I really want to talk more about some of the themes in this movie and how they reflect on certain characters like Em and Mike. But I really think this movie is short enough and more than worth it to keep this review completely spoiler-free. I may talk about them and this whole concept in a video in the future, though, because it is very interesting.
Also when movies really date themselves its so funny. Skype has been dead to the social conscience longer than its actually been dead so just hearing about it so much in this movie was a funny blast to the past.
