Lapsis: Film Review

Cast: Dean Imperial

Director: Noah Hutton

Quintessentially quirky, with a lo-fi execution and a frustratingly abrupt and unfinished finale, Lapsis is somewhat of an enigma of a film.

But it's an enigma worth wrapping yourself in.

In a world ruled by Quantum technology, working class deliveryman Ray Tincelli (Imperial, embracing a kind of James Gandolfini mumble and Sam Rockwell chameleonic vibe) is something of a outlier, a technophobe who is willingly refusing to adopt or embrace the new digital age.

But when his sick brother needs an expensive hospital treatment for a debilitating illness known as Omnia, Ray finds himself ditching his baggage handling job and embracing a cabling job. 

The job requires him to unspool cables around nature and connect to large cubes that inhabit the national parks - but if an electronic machine cabler bests him on his route, he doesn't get paid.

So Ray finds himself stuck in a gig economy where the possibility of failure is always knocking at the door...

Lapsis sets up its world with veritable aplomb, from various worker-inspiring catchphrases from its machinery ("Challenge your status quo" being the most irritably annoying) to a murkiness about the mysteries within, and hints at the Ponzi scheme.

But Lapsis and its director isn't really interested in delving deep into the mysteries that plague Ray and the viewer, preferring instead to concentrate on human interactions. And it's here the film triumphs, bringing the humanity to the fore, and realising this is where the strength within lies.

There are elements of satire here, of poking the low-economy worker bee fare, needling anonymous tech companies and also working over the competition between staff trying to do what's selfishly best for them. (However, the targets are fairly obvious and universal while being oddly non-specific).

Imperial's got an everyman schlubby vibe that's compelling and likeable and which connects with the lo-fi sheen of the film and ethos, making his journey relatable as he appears to take on the system, while becoming stuck in it and confused by it.

The film's first half is weirdly addictive yet, the lack of anything defined about the mysteries of the world proves to be a frustration rather than something to latch onto and speculate over. Populating the movie with relatively nondescript-looking actors gives it a lived-in feel that's complemented by the script.

Patience is needed for Lapsis, and its rhythms and lo-fi indie feel make for a refreshing difference in the current marketplace. It's just unfortunate that some of the more open-ended edges of the story prove to be more of a frustration than a starting point for open and ongoing discussion.

But as a debut for director Noah Hutton, its idiosyncratic edges and execution make Lapsis a stirling debut.