“We’re getting you home,” Joe promises his sister Sidney. In the fascinating new thriller, Things Will Be Different, “home” isn’t a place but a point in time.
The pair are dressed as survivalists, wearing Carhart coats and wool caps, and are armed with tactical rifles. They bolt at the sound of approaching police sirens. They retreat to an abandoned farmhouse, where they are poised to receive instructions from some unidentified authority. They perform an intricate procedure for synchronizing clocks that involves codes and incantations. They enter a bedroom closet that transports them back in time.
We know Sidney wants to return to her daughter, but she thinks Joe is dragging his feet. They end up in a different version of the farmhouse, in a different era, still empty but decorated with family portraits that may or may not be theirs.
What are these people up to? Are they in a post-apocalyptic America or fighting in a civil war? Tantalizing clues pop up: a Stonehenge-like chimney poking out of the ground. Visions of their mother. Joe and Sidney both have the same tattoo, a variation on the symbol for infinity. They consume copious amounts of booze left for them by their unseen hosts. They come upon a vintage cassette player through which they communicate with vaguely sinister voices. And soon, it’s clear they’re not alone. They’re being pursued and targeted.
Writer/director Michael Felker has created a fascinating puzzle of a film. His framing is precise and suspenseful. He has directed numerous shorts; this is his first feature. He and cinematographer Carissa Dorson up the sense of isolation by using sweeping Midwestern vistas of cornfields and open plains.
The film is produced by the prolific team of Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, who are known for Marvel properties and the moody and audacious 2018 film The Endless.
Things Will Be Different is minimalist in setting and budget but not in ambition. The payoff comes from the performances by Adam David Thompson (Joe) and Riley Dandy (Sidney). This is essentially a two-character piece (though Chloe Skoczen, Justin Benson, and Sarah Bolger are in effective minor roles), and both are riveting and act with conviction. Mr. Thompson has appeared in A Walk Among the Tombstones and Glass. Ms. Dandy starred in That’s Amor.
Things Will Be Different begins in medias res and stays there. All told, however, the time-traveling device is underused. The trailer hints at a zippy sci-fi á la The Butterfly Effect, and Things Will Be Different is not that. It’s moody and deliberate. It’s Primer crossed with The Road with a dash of Leave No Trace, and like those films, it lingers in the mind. It requires concentration and patience. It’s ultimately rewarding for the effort.
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Things Will Be Different. Directed by Michael Felker. 2024. On digital platforms. 102 minutes.