BIOSPHERE 

(director/writer: Mel Eslyn; screenwriter: Mark Duplass; cinematographer: Nathan M. Miller; editor: Chris Donlon; music: Saunder Jurriaans, Danny Bensi; cast:  Sterling K. Brown (Ray), Mark Duplass (Billy); Runtime: 106; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Zackary Drucker, Mel Eslyn, Maddie Buis, Shuli Harel; Duplass Brothers Productions; 2022)

“Though riveting at times, the story is too thin for a feature but still worth seeing.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Mel Eslyn does a nice job in her directing debut of this futuristic sci-fi film, shot during the lock-down, with two characters asked to save the world while living in a biosphere. Eslyn co-writes it with Mark Duplass. Though riveting at times, the story is too thin for a feature but still worth seeing.

Telling the plot would be a spoiler. It’s safe to say the film is about about Ray and Billy, the last two men on earth (Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass). They must deal with a crisis that threatens their survival inside a bio-dome. In order to ensure humanity’s survival, they must do the right thing and evolve.

The ambitious film, a different kind of movie, has many twists and surprises. The acting is really good, and the story is intelligent. But it seems more like a play than a movie.
 
It played at the Toronto Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 2/23/2023  GRADE: B