A Surprisingly Well Written Sci-Fi Flick
Anyone who knows me will tell you there’s two types of film I have a real soft spot for – escape rooms and minimalistic sci-fi. What better film to watch then than Björn Engström’s Tangent Room which combines the both. Despite a low budget and minimal effects, Tangent Room delivers a well written, hard sci-fi romp full of big ideas and themes. Exploring theoretical science and confined to a single set for the duration of its 63 minute run time, this Indie film does an excellent job delivering a lot with a little. As a cataclysmic cosmic event threatens to destroy the world, four brilliant minds are joined together and locked in a room. It’s here where the entirety of the film takes place and, with nothing but a series of numbers and equations in front of them, have to work together to solve the issue. After a relatively long opening act, the film dives headfirst into its concept, spinning a drama full of heady science fiction right through to its dramatic conclusion. This hour-long film is perfectly paced too and throughout its run time there’s a consistent feeling that you’re watching a Twilight Zone or Black Mirror episode. The concepts are explained well and the film is chock full of mind-bending ideas and dramatic tension. Some of the effects late on in the film are surprisingly well edited too and this minimalistic approach really helps give the film a grounded feel; a beautiful juxtaposition to the gravitas of the situation. Given the ambiguous, thought provoking ending and lack of action throughout, fans of hard sci-fi will certainly gravitate toward this much more so than casual viewers. The film does take a little while to get going though, bogged down by chunks of expository dialogue at the start. It’s certainly worth persevering with though and around the 30 minute mark, things get very interesting, making it difficult to take your eyes off the film from here on out. The four central characters at the core of this one do an excellent job with their lines too, exuding good chemistry together as they bounce ideas off one another and engage in heated debates. While those after a more action-packed thriller will be left disappointed by this one, for anyone after a more psychologically charged drama will have plenty to like here. With good acting, a decent pacing and an engaging narrative throughout, Tangent Room is well worth checking out and one of the better Indie films released in quite some time.
