Two New Orleans paramedics’ lives are ripped apart after they encounter a series of horrific deaths linked to a designer drug with bizarre, otherworldly effects.
A young couple embracing hands in a motel room ingest a mysterious drug and intense hallucinations begin to unfold. The man steps outside the room into a blinding sun-baked atmosphere while his female companion remains behind and starts seeing roots and branches growing through the walls. Next, an indigenous looking man appears to summon a poisonous snake that slithers towards her and now the seedy room is engulfed in a swamp. Meanwhile, outside, the boyfriend is falling endlessly towards what looks like a massive desert. I was floored by how breathtaking this sequence was.
Steve (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan) are EMS workers introduced answering a call in a rundown home. Inside, a man is on the floor with a gaping chest wound and his girlfriend is overdosing on heroin. Steve is still casually dressed having just been at a party and is nearly mistaken for a “violent criminal” by a responding police officer. The cop remarks, “if you come to work dressed like Tupac, you’re going to get shot.” It’s an upsetting moment that captures how dangerous being black in the USA is even if you’re just doing your job. To further escalate the tension, Steve accidentally stabs himself with the victim’s needle, he regains his composure and applies Narcan, saving the victim. Through natural exposition, it’s clear that Dennis and Steve are close. Dennis is married with children and Steve is a lifelong bachelor slowly realizing how lonely he is.
The motel room setting that opened the film is their next emergency call and inside they find the snake-bitten girlfriend still alive and her boyfriend at the bottom of the elevator shaft crumpled like origami. The paramedics are baffled by the snakebite which appears to have been caused by a diamondback copperhead, a venomous snake not seen in Louisiana for decades. Every recent 911 call has involved the designer drug “Synchronic” which causes unexplainable deaths and circumstances. Steve meets the chemist that created the drug and its origins are described as a rare plant found in the Mojave Desert.
While I’ve enjoyed Anthony Mackie over the years, I think this is his best performance. Also, co-star Jamie Dornan has been lambasted for his association with the “50 Shades of Grey” franchise but if you’ve seen his work in “The Fall,” speaking in his Irish dialect, you’ll know he’s got the acting chops. On a related note, I have a theory that some actors should only be able to talk in their native accent, case in point, Colin Farrell.
The filmmakers, Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, are very talented and seem to have an intelligent grasp on theoretical science and thoughtful screenplays. Their last film, “The Endless,” focused on estranged brothers returning to a UFO death cult that they escaped in the southwestern desert. That’s all I’ll discuss about that brilliant plot, if you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to check it out. “Synchronic” was filmed on location in New Orleans and the directors masterfully move the camera with hypnotic zooms, unique angles, and swift overhead drone shots capturing the gothic city. Moorhead handles the cinematography and both of them edited the final cut. Although they have different genres and styles, not since the Coen Brothers have I seen an artistic pair so in control of their vision and ambitious sprawl. For a 90 minute feature, the script is packed with large themes and intriguing plot twists. Just when I thought I had the story figured out, more fascinating details were revealed. I would actually complain that I wish the film was longer. There wasn’t a moment where I was bored and there’s a great balance between overall humor and emotional scenes. In lieu of spoiling any more of this wonderful screenplay, I applaud one of the main elements involving historical context and its present-day significance.
Now playing in Select Theaters & Drive-Ins
