Review: Suspension (2008)

Director: Alec Joler, Ethan Shaftel | 95 minutes | drama, thriller, fantasy | Actors: Scott Cordes, Annie Tedesco, Caroline Vinciguerra, Dan Nichols, David Fritts, Mykel Hill, Sam Cordes, Walter Coppage, James Andrew Wright, Cynthia Hyer, Sarah Crawford, Roger Strong, Brian Hunter, Rusty Sneary, Diane Bulan

How can you keep an implausible fact that you do not substantiate or explain further interesting, without your audience screaming for an explanation? By giving more weight to the dramatic significance of it and by substantiating it well and packaging it in a nice story.

That’s what happens in this low-key off-Hollywood narration. A good lesson also for this same Hollywood, where things must always be explained. And when it doesn’t happen that gap is often filled with deafening soundtracks and special effects, so that we are just blown away and (hopefully) forgotten about the cracks in the script. None of this in ‘Suspension’, or at least a bit: the gimmick of the film, the stopping of time and movement, where there is always one person (the main character Daniel) who can move freely around the others, remains a amazing phenomenon. A phenomenon that emerges as the framework of the story.

It has been used in video clips before, for example in “The Matrix” and is quite complex to do. The basis is not a computer trick, no, you have to record the scene with several cameras at the same time. Only the pros know exactly how it works, but one thing is certain: it takes a lot of time to do it well and therefore a lot of money if you have to hire people for it. Fortunately, the makers of “Suspension” were able to do it themselves. After shooting the base in 2005, they have enjoyed it for more than two years. And the result is impressive.

But back to the story for a moment.

Can a man play God with impunity? No, of course not, we know that from all the stories, that must go wrong sometime. And it does that quite well in “Suspension”, it is, so to speak, completely out of control. Just as with time travel, for example, playing with God’s building blocks has consequences; you cannot just intervene in scenarios “planned from above.” The makers worked out the script well in this. There are a few clever discoveries that also propel the story. The story gradually evolves from drama to thriller, just like the main character, who turns from a tormented widower into a frustrated stalker and beyond.

Here is also a small downside in the whole. Hollywood is right when it is based on the principle that in a film from the outset it must be clear what kind of film this is going to be. And although they are sometimes very black and white in it, this film would have done well if that rule had been followed a little more.

Because although the storyline is followable and the characters are clear, the signals could have been stronger, as well as the support with other means, such as music. Nevertheless, “Suspension” is a surprising film, which is worth checking out because of the special effects, which are slightly different than usual.