The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘Synchronic’ takes twists through time
One man’s treacherous timetravel tops the new DVD releases for the week of Jan. 26.
Steve (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis ( Jamie Dornan) have worked together as New Orleans EMTS for decades, and as such, their flaws and their wounds sit near the surface of their friendship in “Synchronic.” Frequently hungover Steve is in his 40s and still partying; Dennis resents this, as well as his role as husband to Tara (Katie Aselton) and dad to Brianna (Ally Ionannides), who’s leaving home soon. But things shift after a bizarre, disturbing call from dispatch, wherein Steve is stabbed and they find a long serrated weapon that doesn’t seem from this day and age jammed into the wall (“Time is a lie” is also scrawled on the other side of the room, a relatable message for the quarantine era).
It turns out there’s a new party drug going around, Synchronic, that’s leading to freak accidents, injuries, disappearances and deaths. And when the pair of EMTS respond to a call from a drugged-out teenager who doesn’t know where Brianna is, their hearts sink as they confirm Dennis’ daughter is missing. Meanwhile, Steve is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and finds the last remaining supply of the drug, discovering it makes the user travel through time. And for Steve, in search of Brianna, time-traveling through Louisiana’s prehistoric, colonial, Civil War and post-civil War eras as a Black man is as much a threat as his deadly tumor.
It’s a high-concept movie, and directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead pull it off, mostly. Although, for a movie about timing, it seems a tad ironic the script, by writer-director Benson, feels a tad oddly paced.
But Mackie carries the weight of the film, his performance adept in regret, shame and the space between desperation and liberation. At one point, he turns to Steve, near tears, to proclaim, in juxtaposition to his perilous journeys back in time: “The present is a miracle, bro.” It only took centuries to get there.
Also new on DVD Monday
■ “Come Play”: A young boy (Azhy Robertson) unintentionally unleashes a monster into the world via electronic devices. Also stars Gillian Jacobs and John Gallagher Jr.
■ “Fatman”: An armed Cris Cringle (Mel Gibson) makes a deal with the military and faces off with an assassin hired by a child disappointed by what he found in his stocking.
■ “Princess of the Row”: A girl in foster care (Tayler Buck) escapes to find her homeless father (Edi Gathegi) with a dream to leave town together.
■ “Snowpiercer: The Complete First Season S1”: Post-apocalyptic series based on Bong Joon-ho’s 2013 film follows the infamous nonstop moving train’s survivors. Stars Jennifer Connelly, Daveed Diggs and Mickey Sumner.