Amnesiac (2015)

Number Rolled: 71

Movie Name/Year: Amnesiac (2015)

Tagline: What he can’t remember is killing him.

Genre: Thriller

Length: 84 minutes

Rating: TV-MA

Production Companies: At Entertainment, Recidive SAS, XLrator Media

Producer: Jarod Becker, Charles Arthur Berg, Kate Bosworth, Eric Brenner, Lee Broda, Aleks de Carvalho, Erik Fleming, Grant Guthrie, Phillip Stewart Halpern, Sydney Holland, Lucas Jarach, Michael Kay, Corey Large, Mike Le, Alan Pao, Jacob Pechenik, Gary Preisler, Jason Price, Jeff Rice

Director: Michael Polish

Writer: Amy Kolquist, Mike Le

Actors: Kate Bosworth, Wes Bentley, Olivia Rose Keegan, Shashawnee Hall, Richard Riehle, Patrick Bauchau, Mia Barron, Adam Moryto

Blurb from Netflix: A comatose man awakens with no memory of who he is, and comes to believe that the woman caring for him is not his wife, as she claims.

Selina’s Point of View:

This movie was so boring that I had to watch it a second time because I fell asleep.

Somewhere near the start of this blog, I learned to find a way to stay awake during boring, or bad, movies so I wouldn’t have to re-watch them later. Not a single technique worked during this one. I started snoring up a storm at around the halfway mark.

Not only was the content incredibly predictable, but the script was obnoxiously bad and the entire movie was whispered. I think maybe six lines were said out loud.

Kate Bosworth (The Art of More, 90 Minutes in Heaven, Still Alice) was the only good part of the film. She played her character well and I truly bought what she was selling. She was about as creepy as it gets. None of the other actors really did anything for me, not even Wes Bentley (American Horror Story, The Hunger Games, The Four Feathers) whom I usually enjoy. I’m not sure it’s the fault of the actor’s, though. I think the characters were just complete tropes with no real background or depth.

‘Psychological thriller’ is one of my favorite genres. I love the mind-fuck, sit on the edge of your seat, heart in your throat kind of movie. I see how this film was trying to be a part of that genre… but it was just a sad, pale imitation.

Cat’s Point of View:

This was one movie that I didn’t have any preconceived expectations about.  Though, I generally find that I enjoy most of Wes Bentley’s (Jonah Hex, Gone, Insterstellar) work.

This film felt really slow, yet I think that fits in with the concept of the main character as an amnesiac. There are flashes here and there that don’t quite put the story together. In fact, nothing in the film really explains thoroughly what is going on.

Kate Bosworth (Straw Dogs, Heist, Before I Wake) was extremely unsettling and eerie in this role. The character speaks so softly and is composed with such precision – yet there is also this random aspect to her.

I found myself feeling a real sense of dread in a few places, and in others I just wanted to push for answers because it felt like things were so drawn out.

I didn’t like the portrayal of the detective by Shashawnee Hall (Evan Almighty, Not Safe For Work, Friend Request). I think it was a mix of both the delivery and the scripted dialogue.  The way the character was utilized at the end of the movie also really bugged me. Was this the writer or director’s attempt for a payoff after so much buildup of questions throughout the movie? It felt like it rushed the closure – as if they realized they were out of time and drew the method out of a hat.

I oddly enjoyed this film, in spite of its flaws. I don’t think I’d watch it again, though.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 21%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 12%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 2/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 1.5/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 2/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 2.5/5

The Random Rating: PG-13

P.S. This movie once went under the title: Unconscious.

Movie Trailer: