Last week, I had an even bigger opportunity last week at the beach to watch what was on, and what I chose was mostly violent action movies. I don't have cable, in the sense of channels you can't get with an antenna, except what used to be WGN America, and I don't pay for other ways to get movies, so I watch what is on. Still I am glad I took the time to watch it, the production values are mostly very good and the scenes of Iceland are always a treat. To me this is an example of a novel story that starts well but the filmmakers didn't really have a good way to bring it to a satisfying conclusion. The big question is why was this movie made, and what are viewers supposed to get out of it? Certainly there is some "what would I do in the same situation" but there is no answer. They seem pretty ideal choices for the parts and are capable actors. Maika Monroe is the girl, Jenai, and Matt O'Leary is the guy, Riley. For him that seems to be enough, for her she is concerned. They can be in their own world, literally, and just enjoy each other. But why? Not a lot happens in the 90-minute running time, the two of them find cars with fuel, stores with supplies and food, and in one sense it seems to be a dream come true. They have no way to contact the world outside that village, they soon figure they must be alone in the world. But even the normal live TV news shows only show a loss-of-signal raster. Electricity is still on, seems the power plants are pretty much automated. Only about 10 minutes into the movie comes the big reveal. It is about a young American couple vacationing in Iceland.
I found this movie on Netflix streaming, just reading the synopsis got me interested. They were able to keep out nuisance noises such as distant vehicles and even jet streams in the sky I will admit I am more partial to films about Iceland with Gunnar Hansen (RIP) but those days are over. The filming was excellent for the most part. It is about a two minute Philosophy 101 lecture. None of this theological/philosophical discussion, most of which takes place about 70 minutes into the film, I found to be deep or relevant. It questions God's grand design and asks "whose God is it anyway." It also question customs such as burials because it is what we do as a civilization. The film asks a bunch of questions as to what we see, what is out of focus and is imperfect, but still part of life. Electricity is still on due to geothermal. Riley (Matt O'Leary) is a photographer with a box camera taking black and white photos, mostly of Jenai (Maika Monroe) his girlfriend, even after everyone is gone and he can't develop the film. An American couple in Iceland wake up and discover they are alone and speculate what happened as they raid the stores.
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