Review of Coherence (2014) by Nathan M — 19 Jan 2015

This movie feels like spending an evening with a group of college professors, it's smart, but not always entertaining and interesting. Writer/director James Ward Byrkit is among a group of new sci-fi filmmakers who are more interested in the intellectual side of sci-fi rather than the entertaining/emotional side. Coherence, his directorial debut, is a great example of this, as the plot twists and the facts of the story are rather interesting and brain-teasing, but I could not stand spending time with any of these characters.

Not that the actors were particularly bad, in fact, it was kind of fun getting to see Nicholas Brendon again. But even the Buffy veteran couldn't make these characters more likable or enjoyable to watch. There's nothing compelling about any of them, other than the situation that they're in. Watching them bicker and argue just became tiresome over the length of the film.

Thankfully, Byrkit seems adept enough at handling the major plot elements of the film, and so you stay invested in the many different plot twists and changes. Even if there are not enough small moments to make you care about the characters, it doesn't mean the film doesn't accomplish what it wanted to. You'll be intrigued throughout and interested to see how the film ends, and maybe that's all it has to be. I'm not sure, but Coherence was just barely a hit for me.