Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: NAKED SINGULARITY [Nantucket Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]

Some stories may sound good on paper or even read well but then just fall flat for whatever reason. Oddly enough, "Naked Singularity" [Narrative Features], produced by Ridley Scott, does it one worse and wastes a ridiculously talented genre cast to a simple bait-and-hook story whose McGuffin hardly makes any sense and doesn't thrill. John Boyega, whom one hopes would be more dynamic than he was allowed to be in "Star Wars" falls flat here as well as an optimistic public defender, down on his luck who is just trying to make it by. The way he is directed one never develops any sympathy for him per se. The black hole that crosses his path is Olivia Cooke as a city worker who lives her own life, wears skimpy outfits and just wants to be who she wants to be. While the character is interesting she could have had a much harder edge and still retained her likability. In many respects however the character comes off as trashy and the accent is overdone. Bill Skarsgard, who played Pennywise to such perfection in "It", could have injected a much darker malevolence but he seems to be playing in a comedy film that is different than this one. Ed Skrein knowns for "Battle Angel Alita" and "Live Free Die Hard" plays a grifter that is integral to a score but is just a vicous thug and fairly one-dimensional. Most of the characters are simply not likeable and their progression for the most part is baffling and lacking. The backbone of the singularity, meant to explain everything, is just poorly executed with Tim Blake Nelson's would-be guru trying to give it context to little avail. The resolution itself is shoddy as well despite good intentions. "Naked Singularity" is really a genre move disguising itself as a heist film without a clear concept on what it wants and it fails on nearly every level. D

By Tim Wassberg