Them (2021)

Like most art, this film seems to be as much a reflection of the audience as it is a message apart. In some way, this might be interpreted as a modern story about the dawn of subjective consciousness. In another, it could merely be pointing out how we really do not fully understand the world we have created for ourselves, and how trying to do so becomes an exercise in futility. Some might just see it as a meaningless piece of existential banality. Each interpretation is probably correct in reflecting the interpreter’s view of the movie. All that aside, the production values were excellent, the pacing was even, and the acting was generally well done. There is no powerful story to carry the viewer through the roughly ninety minutes. It is more like interpretive dance than ballet. As such, character development was practically non-existent. It was very hard to get invested even in the main character, Daniel, who played a pawn in a poorly defined game.

Some say art is something that creates emotion without agenda, be it love or hate, excitement or numbing, joy or disgust. ‘Them’ seemed to provoke frustration in the way the Assistant and her brother, Sleepwalker, acted upon Daniel, who was more like a project than a person. The Assistant, Rebecca Calienda, had some particularly compelling moments, well shot, but was relegated to an excessive amount of voice-over narrative. The Sleepwalker, played by Alex Reece, could be easily mistaken for a James Marsden performance. There may be a small lesson about the ineffectiveness of immense power, but that just might be me.

If my review does not seem to tell you anything, you probably will not want to watch the movie.