Review: Uncertainty

Uncertainty, 2009

Directors:Scott McGehee, David Siegel

Writers:Scott McGehee, David Siegel

Stars: Lynn Collins, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Assumpta Serna

Uncertainty isn’t a movie quite like any others. It doesn’t follow the same path with the same feel, wasn't filmed the same with sets and lighting as a block buster. Filmed on location in New York, a portion with hand held cameras, it felt more like real life. And though it might not have been as exciting as I would have hoped -- and yes I do have to be honest and admit, as a writer, there were some plot flaws that might have needed fixing before release --I still found it to be an enjoyable time with phenomenal acting and a concept of two parallel decisions moving side by side in one reality.

There is Kate and Bobby, a not-out-of-the-ordinary couple facing life altering decisions. With the flip of the coin and a jaunt down Brooklyn Bridge, Bobby runs right, Kate runs left, each one finding a different Fourth of July that they share together. In one world, it is ordinary with family and friends while in the other there is murder, mystery while the young couple is yanked into something they can’t understand and have trouble being a part of.

Says Joesph Gordon-Levitt: “The movie was improvised in dialogue and in emotion and in the kind of the moments of the scenes, but the structure, the scenes and the story and the plot was all very precisely thought through beforehand so I think you get a nice blend, because a lot of improv movies feel less like a story and more like real life.”

Was the movie as much of a thriller as promised? I love watching Mr. Levitt's films, but this one, it wasn't as good as I hoped. Mr. Levitt's performance, the whole casts job, was done beautifully and lived up to what I expected. It was the writing that had the flaw with too many decisions that made no sense and led to no where. Why would a man who works with computers not realize that when hiding in plain site, using his credit card could get him found? And the ending in the yellow world didn’t make as much sense to me as the ending in the green world. Murdering bad guys don't stop the chase just because you decide not to play and toss away their toy. The story in the yellow world would have to go on in order to find a believable solution. The energy of the two worlds we watched, the dramas that played out, they were not equal and needed the right amount of time for their own sake to finish to an acceptable conclusion.

Did I enjoy it ... yeah ... I did. And I would watch it again just for the sake of seeing it all over again.