As much as one loves them, it is easy at times to become frustrated with movies. If you see enough of them, you pick up on certain familiar storylines and characterizations and long for something new. Something original.
Yesterday I was in the mood for something genuinely different and scrolled through some of the movies available free to watch through Amazon Prime. I found the film 2014 film The Frame and read the short description of it. It went like this:
From Jamin Winans, writer and director of the cult smash hit, INK, comes a mind-bending science fiction thriller about two strangers who find their lives colliding in an impossible way.
Not a whole lot to hang on to here, but the movie’s poster looked kinda cool…
…and I wasn’t doing much else so I sat back and watched it.
Wow.
Where to begin?
The film looks really nice. The cinematography and effects (though limited) are incredible for what I’m assuming is a low budget film.
The story, however, is the main draw and it is fascinating.
The movie opens with Alex (David Carranza), in a parking lot looking out at a city before him. He watches the city and the (ahem) framing of the shot is quite striking. After a while, he walks through this parking lot, pulls out a slim jim, and breaks into a car. He takes off with the stolen vehicle (after, tellingly for later in the movie, turning off the radio) and we watch as he becomes part of a warehouse heist. These scenes show us that Alex, though a criminal, is both smart and cool under pressure and DOES NOT believe in violence.
The movie then abruptly switches to Sam (Tiffany Mualem), an EMT Paramedic who, in her opening scenes, is filmed at the same angle as Alex was in his. We watch as she intrepidly enters a home where an abused wife lies bloody and unconscious on the floor while her daughter cries and her abusive husband is about to get violent again. As with Alex’s opening scenes, these scenes serve to introduce us to Sam and show that she is also intrepid, smart, caring, and cool under pressure.
And then the movie connects these two characters in a most interesting way.
I’m tempted to stop my description of The Frame right there. I’ll mention a little more, but it will involve SPOILERS so I’ll do so after the trailer is presented below.
The Frame turns out to be a riveting sci-fi/fantasy about the connection between two very flawed yet very sympathetic characters and the bizarre worlds they live in. What’s perhaps most incredible of all is the actors who play Alex and Sam have an incredible on-screen chemistry even though they (MILD SPOILER) share no more than a few seconds of time together within the film itself. And when they do, and provided you get as into the movie as I did, you will tear up.
The Frame is a mind-bender of a work and and I must congratulate not only the actors involved but writer/director Jamin Winans for creating such a unique, thought-provoking, and ultimately emotional work. I’ll have to check out his other works.
Highly Recommended (Some SPOILERY thoughts follow the trailer)
BEWARE!
SPOILERS BELOW!
You’ve been WARNED!
The big twist of The Frame is that Alex and Sam are actually characters in their own TV shows and that they see each other as fictional creations. Alex watches Sam in her EMT show while Sam sees Alex in his. If the movie has one flaw it is that Sam’s show is perhaps not as compelling as Alex’s and it would have been nice to see two equally compelling shows within the movie.
But that’s a minor complaint.
The “fictional” characters of Alex and Sam wind up -though it is never explained why- actually talking to each other through their respective television screens. This understandably freaks Alex out. Being a thief, he at first worries of being surveyed by the cops. Sam, on the other hand, wonders if she’s showing signs of severe mental illness as she’s talking to the TV and its talking back to her!
These are delightful touches that only add to the overall picture. When Sam realizes Alex’s TV show is about to reach its series finale, she fears for his life and tries to save him even as time may be running out for both of them.
As I said above, I highly recommend The Frame. It is perhaps more a fantasy than science fiction but it presents some very strong emotions along with mind-bending concepts.
At the risk of repeating myself: I strongly recommend it.