Jeri Jacquin

Coming from directors Justin Benson, Aaron Moorehead, Patriot Pictures and Well Go USA is time and those who try to mess with SYNCHONIC.

Dennis (Jamie Dornan) and Steve (Anthony Mackie) are best friends serving as Paramedics in New Orleans. Dennis is grumpily married to the very happy Tara (Katie Aselton) as they get ready to celebrate the birth of their child. Also joining them is the moody Brianna (Ally Ioannides).

Dennis and Steve have been friends for more years than they can count so working together is a bonus. Lately there have been a string of strange deaths brought on by a designer drug. Steve is so angry about it he tracks down the last batch.  Just when these two think they have seen it all, they haven’t.

Steve discovers something about himself and decides not to tell Dennis believing he has enough going on in his life, especially when his 18-year-old daughter Brianna mysteriously disappears. Feeling down, Steve decides to try the Synchronic and what happens to him is absolutely unbelievable.

But it may save someone he loves!

Mackie as Steve is a strong character to play in a film that has a story as twisted around as this one is. Examining his life and friendship causes him a bit of turbulence and brings up worries about some, as Dennis see it, bad habits. Mackie dives right into the story and knocks it out of the part keeping me curious the entire film. The inquisitive mind takes over and with the help of Stephen Hawkings (you will get this later), discovers the world has always been a much bigger place in time.

Dornan as Dennis is a man who just can’t seem to find his happy. Grouchy about everything currently and pretty much everything for the last 20 years is irritating – yet his friendship with Steve takes it on the chin. When his daughter mysteriously disappears, it is time for Dennis to do some life examination of his own. Dornan plays the moments of shocks with the same reactions I would have – once you pick up your jaw from the floor it is time to do something about a situation.

Ioannides as Brianna starts the film having something to say but no time to say it and pulling away from her parents. By the end, she is pretty happy to see an adult! Aselton as Tara is devastated when her daughter is missing and the cracks in the marriage to Dennis begin to show.

Other cast include, Bill Oberst Jr. as The Looter, Martin Bradford as Bob, Devyn Tyler as Danika, Betsy Hold as Leah and Shane Brady as Travis.

Well Go USA Entertainment is a theatrical and home entertainment company specializing in bringing the best Action, Genre and Independent films from around the world to North American markets. As a leader in independent film distribution, Well Go USA Entertainment’s titles can be seen across a variety of platforms including theatrical, digital, subscription and cable VOD, packaged media and broadcast television. Well Go USA Entertainment currently releases three to five films per month. To see more please visit www.wellgousa.com.

SYCHRONIC messes with relationships, friendships, time, synthetics and understanding that all four of these do not go very well together. What I really like about the story is the story of facing life and accepting that sometimes friends are going to make you nuts. That part of the story is believable.

For the twists that SYNCRONIC brings about time, it is so fascinating to watch Steve work out the problems step by step. Where he goes and what he experiences is life altering for him in so many ways.

The final scenes of the film were enough to get me a little choked up because of the sacrifices people are willing to make for one another. The film does not rely on heavy CGI but instead focuses on the characters, be they main or a few moments on screen, and their place in the story.

All of this is wrapped up in a mystery that Steve finds frightening and yet satisfying in his life. He may know fear in what he finds but that does not stop him from continuing to search for Brianna, even knowing the consequences. The poster for the film is a perfect visual description of the film as well.

In the end – one pill and seven minutes to see another look at time!

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