Coherence (2013)

Directed by James Ward Byrkit; produced by Lene Bausager

A small group of friends gather for dinner on the night a comet passes very close to Earth. As the evening progresses, some unnerving events transpire – cell phones break, the internet shuts down and power fails. Though light is provided by a household generator, there is still no contact with the rest of the world. When an attempt is made to speak to the people in the only other illuminated house in the pitch-black neighbourhood, however, what the friends find challenges their perceptions of reality.

A most intriguing plot is at the centre of this low-budget psychological thriller. Though the idea has been used before, it has not been utilised in quite this way, and benefits from the notion that the characters have little control over events, or even over themselves.

The script is minimal, much of the dialogue being improvised. This could have been disastrous, if the actors involved tried to seize the spotlight for themselves. But, guided by the director, they instead move the story forward. This also contributes, I think, to the plot’s credibility, in that these are reasonably intelligent people trying to deal with an unreasonable situation. They attempt to come up with solutions, yet these solutions are often contradictory, and lead to complications, furthering the story.

Filmed in the director’s own home, the movie peopled by Byrkit’s actor-friends, there is a believability in the associations the characters have, and in their familiarity with the surroundings. That the setting and the actors are well-known to the director seems to lend strength to the claustrophobia of the movie. The house becomes a kind of refuge from what is occurring outside, yet that in itself is turned on its head with later revelations about some of the characters. This last quality is one of the more disturbing elements in the plot.

The acting is very good, coming from people with whom most viewers are probably unfamiliar. Nicholas Brendon (‘Xander’ from the tv series Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Elizabeth Gracen are probably those most seen previously.

One of the flaws in Coherence is that though the characters are not unlikeable, the audience doesn’t come to care about them enough. They are not interesting in themselves; it is their actions and, in many cases, their words, that involve the viewer. This is a minor problem, though, and certainly not off-putting. Another flaw, again minor, is that the ending might have been more definite; though, in truth, it may be concluded that there really could be no definition in the ending of such a plot.

Even with its inadequacies – which aren’t really important - Coherence is one of the more original science fiction thrillers I’ve seen. Lean and stripped of special effects, it shows what can be accomplished with imagination and talent.