Lapsis [2020]
“Rest denied! Rest denied!”
It’s important to start this review off with an explanation. I really loved this film and my “-” does not reflect a deficiency, but more a reluctance and insecurity with what to rate the experience… Let me explain.
Lapsis is a 2020 film from nascent director, Noah Hutton. In a not-so-adjacent future where a technology called “Quantum” has taken over the global market, umbrella-monopoly companies hire “private contractors” in the form of regular citizens looking to make a buck. “Cablers”, as they are called, do exactly that; run physical cables from hub to hub to better expand the network. They hike for miles with self purchased gear through rough terrain for days on end, only being paid when their route is complete. But, there’s a catch… Uber… I mean, the-company-that-runs-the-Quantum-networks-and-hires-these-“contractors” [silly me, my mistake], has begun to employ service robots that run the same routes as their human counterparts. If you’re passed by one of these robots… you don’t get paid.
Lapsis is an absolutely brilliant narrative on “gig culture”, particularly in the United States, and handles its satire masterfully. What it has to say is important not only for those who currently rely on this type of work to get by, but those who enjoy the services provided by it… and never lift a finger to improve the lives [and legislation] for those toiling away.
This is not a “class war” film; it’s not that brash or heavy handed. What it is, is deeply reflective of the attitude towards labor that too many suffer from every day.
From production value to score, Lapsis is incredible. Visually and thematically; this film is nearly indistinguishable from big-budget films that people have actually heard of… Conceptually, it is far beyond them. From simple and very clever production decisions [attaching the cables to the Quantum devices by using magnets attached to the female ends of extension cables] to the way the film revolves around its central narrative without ever preaching to you about current events, Lapsis is a film that leaves me wanting more from Hutton’s future projects. Unfortunately, that want is where I waffle with my rating.
For all of Lapsis’ incredible strengths, its pacing and focus aren’t quite up to snuff. The intro is too long, the middle sags, and the ending is too abrupt and incomplete.
In the beginning of the film, we’re treated to a nearly 5-minute introduction to our main character that is both irrelevant and confusing. It’s irrelevant because of a much more engaging [and funny] sequence only a single scene later that serves the same purpose and it’s confusing because it almost sets the stage for this to be a Twilight Zone-esque movie… Which it is not. I guess the intro sets up a recurring joke? But… It wasn’t needed. Towards the middle we get a sequence exactly 2-minutes long that doesn’t serve to move the story along at all, as we’ve already been told what happens in a previous scene and is [again] partially repeated later in the film during a much more engaging sequence. Combine these two instances with the fact that the film juggles about 3 ideas too many, and those 7-minutes of wasted runtime really add up.
Unfortunately, those three foibles leave Lapsis a little long in the tooth and short on the breath by the end. It’s a great one to reflect on and an easy recommendation for people that like social narrative or even just “adjacent” scifi films but, with a little tighter editing, a few culled ideas [or both] we could have had something I truly believe deserves it’s Rotten Tomatoes rating of 95.
As is? I really just don’t know. Parts of it are absolutely brilliant, parts need a little more guidance, and other parts remind you to always…
“Challenge your status quo!”
