Written and directed by Mark Jenkin, Roses of Nevada is a workof art that channels anxiety. It also has an intricate theme that weaves in hidden terror with a voyage of a mystery. With spiraling and poetic direction, it is almost is brilliant. The continuity and writing though, tend to still feel sloppy and stale.Most of the film just keeps reminding its audience that the film is intended to feel like a nightmare. It does so by relying on frequent still shots and a weird context of audio. While the cinematography and storyline are captivating at times, the technology behind it does not sync up to amaze.
The film treats itself like a Back to the Future film in that its characters get lost with their own names and who they are. The film keeps looping back to environments and people, and the main characters keep reminding themselves that their reality may be in error. While this approach is solid, the executions continue to need more fulfillment. I was intrigued frequently, yet kept feeling like this movie almost has it if it didn’t feel so rushed.
The film has that mystic and eerie lighting that audiences knowmeans the elements are not right. It works well here as an element to heighten the concern for the plot and the characters. The main players are Nick (George Mackay) and Liam (Callum Turner). They join a boat crew that has returned after not being present for three decades. Once they start work on that boat, they begin to see changes around them. They realize they have been sent back in time. This leads to the people around them assuming they are part of the previous crew. They are not at all. The film begins to heighten its nightmare aspects by looping in more terrorizing and flashback moments, which correlate to Nick and Liam. At the same time though, Nick and Liam begin to feel confused about their own identity.
Jenkin has a mind that creates games in his projects. He did this with his previous film, Enys Men. Primarily by utilizing still shots and dark angles, he creates suspense for his audience. While the characters are important elements, his artistic approach to darkness prevails as his strong point. While Enys Men was more on land around lighthouses, this one is a ship taking two men to a universe they are no part of. The purpose has more meaning in Roses of Nevada, but remains tainted in its flawed technology.
The voyage is suspenseful. The frustrations between Nick and Liam get heated. The audiences will have mixed feelings. Some will love this film, some will hate it, and some will feel neutral. Regardless, it is not brilliant, but it is a breathtaking work of art that is just shy of the mark. The experimental sides needed better development. Two-and-a-half stars for Roses of Nevada.
Movies with Tarek 