Things Will Be Different Review

Things Will Be Different is a thoroughly engaging Sci-Fi thriller is a lovingly written thank-you note to the bonding power of creative cinema, and those who draw us to it.

Siblings Joseph and Sidney are on the run with two holdalls bulging with stolen cash. They hole up in a ‘magical safe house’ that enables them to lay low in an alternative timeline until the heat dies down on their own. However, money is not the only baggage they carry and when 2 weeks turn into multiple months paranoia and mistrust bubble to the surface. Communicating via a tape recorder with an unknown incarcerator, they must negotiate for their release and prepare to fend off a mysterious assailant.

Michael Felker‘s minimalist time travel teaser is intimate in conception and execution. Intended as a nostalgic nod to his father’s love of Sci-Fi classics and precious time spent watching them together, it is also meant to be a catalyst for enthused discussion between viewers, just as they analysed movies like The Matrix over many a Taco Bell.

As a result, not every concept and narrative twist is fully explained. This may frustrate and annoy some, but these gaps are engineered to create space for interpretation and debate. Felker values the journey more than the destination but his film has more than enough heart and soul to ensure that the possibilities and consequences play out in our heads long after the credits roll.

The director has learned a trick or two from working with genre legends Justin Benson. In adopting their commendable ethics of craftsmanship, such as mutual respect and creative camaraderie, he has fostered an infectious and authentic workspace for his intriguing film. An enclosed chamber piece such as this requires lively cinematography and engaging screen chemistry to keep it ticking and Things Will Be Different excels on both fronts. Carissa Dorson‘s camerawork is classy and crisp with a keen eye for detail and fluidity. Her framing is spot on in nurturing the narrative and extrapolating the intense isolation and growing tension.

The two leads are superb at creating credible interactions that infuse empathy and reliability without imploding the fragile world-building. As with all time travel films erudite editing is an integral component of the tricksy mechanics and this is another strong suit of Felkers. It feels a tad montage-heavy at times, however, he keeps a steely grip on the shifting sands that exfoliates confusion without spoon-feeding.

This highly recommended time-travel thriller may not have all the answers, but the questions are delivered with a calm confidence that makes it a joy to decode. It’s filmmaking that recognises escapism as an edifying art form and manifests it in a genre all too often infested by laziness and trite opportunism.