Review: ‘Parallel’
If you had the opportunity to visit a parallel universe, wherein other versions of yourself and your loved ones exist, would you take it? And what would you do with it if you did?
Those are the questions posed by Parallel, the latest film from director Isaac Ezban and writer Scott Blaszak that stars Aml Ameen, Martin Wallström, Mark O’Brien and Georgia King as a group of friends who unwittingly stumble onto a mirror that acts as a portal to a multiverse. Strapped for cash and running out of time to develop a new and improved version of their parking space rental app, Devin (Ameen), Noel (Wallström), Josh (O’Brien) and Leena (King) are desperate to stay afloat in an intensely competitive environment. What may first appear to be the answer to all their problems soon turns into a nightmare, leading to frayed nerves, tense encounters, heartbreak and loss for everyone involved.
Much like James Ward Byrkit’s Coherence, itself a deeply engrossing psychological thriller about what would happen if a hypothetical multiverse collapsed in on itself, Parallel is an inventive micro-thriller with a neat concept that begs for repeat viewings. Unlike Coherence, however, which utilized existing theories and actual science to lend some credence to its convoluted proceedings, Parallel is incredibly straightforward and much more accessible, with Ezban and Blaszak choosing to focus on the film’s entertainment value rather than any technicalities that could prove to be too confusing and muddled for casual audiences.
While this creates for a much more entertaining experience than other films with similar concepts, it also may prove to be too sloppy or underdeveloped for fans of the sci-fi genre who are used to more complex and nuanced fare. What saves Parallel from falling into B movie territory, though, is its impeccable cast, who manage to elevate the material with their impressive performances. Ameen is the film’s emotional center, turning in a layered performance as a man with a guilty conscience desperate to reconnect with his estranged father. King, on the other hand, isn’t given much to work with but she does what she can with the material, delivering a wholly believable performance as a woman suffering from quasi-imposter syndrome.
O’Brien, known for his exceptional performances in Ready Or Not and the Showtime series City on a Hill, is very much the film’s attempt at providing some comic relief; his character, Josh, is more concerned with getting drunk and attempting to get laid (to various degrees of success) rather than turning their ideas into a successful venture. In another actor’s hands, Josh could have very much ended up being a grating, one-dimensional caricature of a character but in O’Brien’s adept, careful ones, he is much more complex and nuanced than he had any right to be. His character arc in the film’s third act, in particular, does a lot to humanize the character and give audiences a peek behind his carefully constructed exterior.
The film’s MVP, though, is Wallström, who digs deep into his character’s fractured psyche to emerge with an intense, haunting portrayal of an incredibly broken man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Not much backstory is given for his character (or any of the others except for Devin, really) but Wallström is able to fill in the blanks with mannerisms, gestures and a haunted look in his eyes that hint at the presence of much more emotional complexity beneath his well-coiffed surface than it first appears.
Although slightly underbaked and a bit too heavy-handed to truly leave the desired impact, Parallel is still an incredibly inventive, fun sci-fi thriller with an intriguing concept and incredible performances from its cast that make it worth the price of admission alone.
Rating: 3.5/5
Parallel will be released in select theaters and on VOD on December 11.