It
sounds like a reality show, but it will be much more serious than that. For
astronauts, isolation is a much greater concern than G-forces or anything
physical. Therefore the potential crew of an upcoming privately funded
interstellar mission are auditioning by spending four hundred days in an
underground simulator. They expect Kepler Industries will have plenty of planned
challenges in store for them. However, the real surprise might be unleased on
the Earth above them in Matt Osterman’s 400
Days (trailer
here), which
opens this Friday in New York.
Cole
Dvorak is the hard charging blowhard who will be making the crew’s regular
broadcasts to the outside world. “Bug” Kieslowski is the squirrely one, but
somehow he is also the crew’s only married parent. Dr. Emily McTier will be
tracking everyone’s mental and physical health, so she is going to be really
darn busy. Theo Cooper is their loose cannon captain, slightly in the Kirk-ish
tradition. Unfortunately, he started the mission with a nasty hangover, but he
had a good excuse. He had just been dumped by McTier.
Everything
went swimmingly well during launch, but the crew lost radio contact with
mission control shortly thereafter. Assuming it is all part of the plan, they
carry on, notching their mission objectives as the four hundred days count
down. However, as the near the day of their simulated re-entry, strange things
start happening. Stress has clearly taken a toll on everyone, but when a
half-starved wretch of a man breaks into their simulator, they realize
something well outside the simulation’s parameters is underfoot. When they
venture outside, they find the world has changed. It is now a very dark,
predatory place—perhaps even post-apocalyptic, but the vibe is more Kafka and
Sartre than Mad Max.
Executive
Producer Dane Cook reportedly takes a lot of flak from other comedians, but he really
gives 400 Days a tremendous boost of
energy as the boorish, ego-inflated Dvorak. He gets over some of the film’s
best lines as Dvorak becomes increasingly unhinged. Brandon Routh is more than
a little bland on-screen, but one could argue he is appropriately taciturn as
the glumly competent Cooper. Despite her growing cult following, Caity Lotz
glams down for McTier, projecting her intelligence and sensitivity. Ben Feldman’s
Kieslowski over relies on twitchy mannerisms, but Grant Bowler brings plenty of
oily charisma as Kepler Industries’ CEO, Walter Anderson. It also seems fitting
to have a Lost alumnus on board in
some capacity.
In
many ways, 400 Days shares a kinship
with the original Twilight Zone pilot,
“Where is Everybody?,” but it delves deeper into the dark side of humanity. Somewhat
frustratingly, Osterman guards the film’s unsettling ambiguity and never gives
us a grand unified explanation of anything. That is both good and bad, because that
means the film will keep bugging you well after the initial viewing. Yet, for those
who were raised on Rod Serling, it is sort of refreshing.
