IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

This film shares three entwined stories that explore the cycle of human evolution and connection. Moving through the prehistoric past, the present day, and a distant future, each segment covers several decades. In the past, Neanderthal family Thorn (Jorge Vargas), Hera (Tanaya Beatty) and their two young children are struggling to survive the end of their era. In the present, anthropology doctoral student Claire (Rashida Jones) is studying Thorn’s ancient remains while dealing with her mother’s failing health and a new relationship with colleague Greg (Daveed Diggs). The future sees astronaut Coakley (Kate McKinnon) on a centuries-long mission to deliver human life to a distant planet, accompanied by an AI operating system named Rosco (Rhona Rees). Coakley is a longevity-enhanced pilot who has been genetically engineered to live forever and is already 210 years into a 336 year journey when she appears on screen. While this interstellar thread was the most interesting, McKinnon is a mismatched choice for the portrayal of such a serious character. Thanks to a decade of typecast comedic performances on ‘Saturday Night Live’, this role just didn’t work for her and I kept waiting for the jokes. The development of all of the characters is light on and the time jumps lead to some unrealistic decisions that see major plot points go unexplained – like how Thorn’s daughter was able to starve off pregnancy for twelve years after getting married, or what actually happened to the human race. These gaps make the narrative feel slightly disjointed and leave too many questions unanswered. Overall this movie is neither amazing nor dull, it just sits comfortably in the middle. There’s some food for thought around how our species will carry on in the coming millennia, but for me it didn’t delve into anything deeply enough.