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.
Our movie kicks off with Dennis (Jamie Dornan) and Steve (Anthony Mackie) responding to a house call of drug addicts. We see early on how Steve takes his job seriously and how precise he is while doing it.
Next, they respond to a call at an abandoned amusement park, and while they are confused about why they are there, we see our first sign of the drug ‘Synchronic,’ and the dead body near it.
Although the focus is shifting to the drug now, we see the trickle-down effects of Dennis and Steve’s personal lives and how it interferes with their day-to-day lives. Dennis’s marriage is on the rocks, and Steve is tackling cancer, and both of which are transpiring as Synchronic is reaching the masses.
Dennis’s daughter then goes missing, and while this is happening, Steve has a sudden epiphany and realizes he may have figured out a way to find her. Synchronic is a time-traveling drug that sends you back in time for seven minutes, and within this, Steve starts to take the meds to attempt to find her and figure out what’s going on.
For the most part, the script works for me. I get rather tired of the continuously lackluster unoriginal scripts out in the world, so Justin Benson script takes a different approach with the time travel, which was enjoyable. Benson also does a great job within his writing of Steve and Dennis. He makes you care about what is going on between the two, and you love their relationship and watching it grow.
As a result of this, Steve and Dennis, played by Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan, have great chemistry that makes Benson’s writing and Steve and Dennis work. Their friendship felt authentic and real, which is why you invest in both of their characters.
Also, Anthony Mackie is a very under-the-radar actor that I don’t think gets enough credit. He is super consistent, and you can see the effort he puts into each role. The empathetic part of Steve is profound, and Mackie does a great job of embodying this role. It isn’t your prototypical role, and you see the growth within Mackie in Steve as the film progresses.
Finally, we have reached the film’s conclusion, and I would like to have a word with Justin Benson because what he did to me was not okay. I will not divulge in any other details because I don’t want to spoil the film.
The Verdict:
‘Synchronic is hands down one of the best sci-fi films of the year.’
Jacob is a film critic and co-founder of the Music City Drive-In. He is a member of the Music City Film Critics’ Association and specializes in the awards season. You can find him on Twitter @Tberry57.
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