Sometimes when looking at a film, you can find the action to be big, explosive and high dollar in its extremity, and sometimes it is the opposite. The action can be underplayed. It can come from human interaction in small spaces. Where there is a feeling of tension, there can be an underlying volcanic tone where you know something can explode at any time.
It is this tone that is present in the film ‘Determinism.’
Taking place at various locations on a Pennsylvania college campus, this film is the story of Alec. He’s a student who has gone over to the wrong side of the tracks. He’s a bad apple who has fallen down a dark well, and is floundering for a way out of it.
Played by newcomer Sanjit Majumadar, (who, along with his twin brother Ranju, co wrote and co directed the film,) the Alec character is one who is on his way toward hitting rock bottom. He has flunked out of school, and has had his parents turn their backs on him and cut him off from their lives. (This is conveyed in a nicely underscored way with a voicemail message by Alec’s father (who, according to the ‘Determinism’ website was played by the Majumadars’ real father Subrata.)
The character is set down a path of crime and drama around the campus as he begins a mission to score some money that will allow him to leave campus to begin a new life.
What we as viewers get from here is a series of events that collide with each other. Various criminal elements that are present on the campus begin to play off of each other, as Alec enlists the aid of fellow student Tristan (Ryan Lewis) to aid him in his plan to rip off a student drug dealer. (When enacted, this goes horribly wrong.)
The Majumadars let the camera explore the campus in between character interactions in a dark and gritty way. At first, this began to get a little cumbersome for myself as a viewer to experience, but by the end of the film it seemed as if it was like the various campus buildings were unsaid walls of an unbarred prison that was steadily engulfing the characters. I grew appreciative of the endeavor, and felt as if the campus itself became a character in the film: A monster that was slowly swallowing up the film’s players.
This is a low budget film, and not all of the actors give convincing performances. Their shortfalls do not hinder the film that much, in that there are standouts.
Mr. Lewis gives Tristan a nice underlying feeling of naivety. When he is dragged into Alec’s problems, he gives the sense that he is in the deep end of the pool, but really doesn’t want to go without a floatation device. He’s cold, but not deviously so. He’s cavalier, and thoughtless, but I didn’t get the feeling that his motives were genuinely evil, (even though he was doing bad things.) This makes his involvement with the events at the end of the movie feel all that more powerful. (And no, I won’t ruin those events here.)
Another great standout is Alec. Mr. Majumadar imbues Alec with a character vulnerability that is interesting to watch. He is the architect of this controlled experiment, and we are reminded of such every time we see him on the video he begins to film in his apartment in an effort to unburden himself.
Alec knows that his world is crumbling around him, and he is going to be left with nothing. His lack of regard for the others he drags into his scenario is present when he preys upon what he knows to be Tristan’s drug problem to get him to aid him, and gets another student killed after talking him back into a drug pushing life that he tells Alec he no longer wants to be a part of.
As a first time effort from first time directors/writers, this is a film to be proud of. There aren’t any big name actors in the cast, and that’s okay. As stated before, whatever shortcomings the film has are overridden by the intelligence of it all.
The Majumadars make total use of their resources and their surroundings to tell a smart story. It has some very nice moments, and I can see them going on to make other intelligent films as well.
Sanjit Majumadar is an acting talent in beginning bloom. He does a good job here. It will be nice to see him progress and mature in what should hopefully be a long and great career. If this film is an indication of what is to come from him, I’m looking forward to what happens next.
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