One man’s search for meaning
Film’s quantum reasoning backfires — there are other worlds, with better movies
Vancouver director Jason James likes to find whimsy in dark places. His feature debut, That Burning Feeling, was a rom-com in which a promiscuous dude has to track down all his sexual partners to let them know he has gonorrhea. This one opens with a suicide attempt by its lead character, who then falls in love with a woman who was almost his adopted sister. So, dark and a little creepy too.
Thomas Middleditch does a good job portraying sad-sack Ben, whose dime-store knowledge — I guess it’s dollar-store knowledge these days — of quantum mechanics has him believing in the multiple-worlds’ theory of reality. He decides that his life will make more sense if he can get in touch with Hanna, the woman his parents briefly adopted before returning her when they found they were pregnant with him. He’s helped in his quest by Tabby (Diana Bang), a friend and neighbour so clearly carrying a torch for him that it’s a wonder she doesn’t set herself on fire.
Hanna, meanwhile, is played by Jess Weixler in a variant of the manic, pixie, dream girl character that is, quantum mechanically speaking, all quirk and no quark. There’s a reason for her fanciful behaviour and the way she can conjure up cartoon animals at will, but it may feel like something of a narrative cheat from writer Jason Filiatrault when you discover what it is.
Or you may wish to just sink into the film’s brief (85-minute) runtime and let you take it where it will. For myself, I couldn’t quite subscribe to the movie’s “just let go” message, and found myself wondering what path I would have taken if I’d done something else with my time. Such is the peril of quantum reasoning; the knowledge there are an infinite number of worlds that contain better movies you might be watching.