Only (2019)

Directed by: Takashi Doscher | 97 minutes | drama, romance | Actors: Freida Pinto, Leslie Odom Jr., Chandler Riggs, Jayson Warner Smith, Joshua Mikel, Mark Ashworth, Tia Hendricks, Noor Naghmi, Maggie Parto, Nicholas Anthony Reid, Charles Lawlor

Talk about perfect timing! ‘Only’ appears on DVD and Blu-ray during the corona crisis. It makes this thriller, in which a strange virus keeps people busy, very topical. The fact that certain population groups are more sensitive to this phenomenon is also close to reality. While the coronavirus is especially threatening to the elderly and people in poor health, the virus in ‘Only’ is especially dangerous for women.

In ‘Only’ you see a fierce variant of the coronavirus sowing death and destruction. A comet is responsible for the emergence of a strange disease that is fatal to the female population. A young couple (played by Freida Pinto and Leslie Odom Jr.) are hiding in the house. Not only to guarantee her safety, but also to keep malicious criminals out. That can’t go well for long and eventually the duo will have to leave their safe harbor and brave the outside world.

Director Takashi Doscher is ‘lucky’ with the current situation, because his film is now more empathetic. Self-isolation is something that everyone can identify with. Mutual irritations, because you are constantly on each other’s lips, are a recognizable situation that spouses, couples and lovers have to deal with on a daily basis. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to qualify this film as a must-see. The pace is too slow for that.

Doscher wants to combine an exciting science fiction film with an oppressive melodrama and that’s where it rubs. The worries between the couple are too viscous and the sci-fi part does not last because of the too meager budget. The countless flashbacks also take the momentum out of this film. ‘Only’ is certainly not bad, but with a higher budget and a better cast there would have been more here. The acting is not bad, but the characters remain too flat. This shortcoming could have been overcome with a more experienced cast. What remains is a nice relationship drama with a light sci-fi touch.