TIFF 2019: SYNCHRONIC BREAKS THROUGH

You have to admire those films that fly under the radar especially at a festival like TIFF where sometimes it is quite nice to find a hidden gem.  Director Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead who were at this festival before for their film Spring back in 2014 have worked their way up ever since.  Their new instalment Synchronic would have moviegoers and cinephiles saying that this is their best work yet but here on FERNTV we are saying that we can’t wait until what they come up with next.   What we can truly say about both Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead is that they are a working man’s director because these two have not been fed the silver spoon throughout their film careers.

They spoke before their premiere of Synchronic at TIFF at the Ryerson Theatre and said that they were genuinely thrilled that so many came out to see their film as their expectations were beyond low.   They both also admitted that it was difficult for A-listers to even look at their scripts and that it was a frustrating journey.  Until that time that both Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie both accepted the role for this film.  Now moviegoers are starting to pay attention to these two and looking up their past work of Spring and Resolution.

Steve, played by Anthony Mackie, and Dennis, played by Jamie Dornan, are two New Orleans paramedics and also good friends who get the call for a string of deaths that are linked to an over the counter drug called synchronic.  While they are trying to figure out why these deaths occur, they both have problems on the home front that they need to face head-on.  Steve who seems to have it all is not necessarily happy with his home life as his wife, who is played by Katie Aselton, is on the brink of calling it quits with him.  Dennis, on the other hand, is facing terminal cancer and having a rough time putting his focus on the job.  Things start to unravel about this drug synchronic furthermore when Steve’s daughter disappears at a friends’ get together where they party with the drug.  She is nowhere to be found as tensions rise and both Steve and Dennis drop into a world of hurt.  While trying to pick up the pieces in their own lives, both Steve and Dennis must pick up all that is left over from the chaos from all those who induce this drug in a post-Katrina setting.

This is where we do not give more away about the story of the film because in the second half of the film is where both Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead give you a ride that you do not expect.  The genre of Synchronic bends like Beckham so smoothly that you have no idea what you are watching anymore but you are not lost in the rhythm of the film.  This is where Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead put it all on the line or pretty much let it ride that the film works out in the end.  This is non-linear filmmaking at its best and it could not have happened better for two directors like Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead who received their stamp of approval from the audience at TIFF.  This is why gems are discovered.