‘The Darkest Universe’ review: “Hinges on the strength of its intriguing central mystery.”

The Darkest Universe review: A low-budget indie flick with more ambition than it first may appear.

The Darkest Universe review, Andrew Gaudion.

Directing duo Will Sharpe and Tom Kingsley came on to the scene with 2012’s Black Pond, a low-budget black comedy which proved to be a very bold statement, earning the pair a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding British Debut. Since then, it is mainly Sharpe who has continued to carve something for himself, most notably with this year’s Olivia Colman Channel 4 series Flowers, but the two have paired together once more with The Darkest Universe another low-budget indie flick, which has more ambition than it first may appear.

Zac’s (played by Sharpe) life has spiralled out of control. Not only has his relationship with girlfriend (Sophia Di Martino) disintegrated, but his somewhat strange and wayward sister Alice (co-writer Tiani Ghosh) has disappeared on a narrow boat trip with her boyfriend Toby (Joe Thomas). Putting all his energies into finding her, Zac takes to the road to follow the investigation himself. As his mind becomes more and more uneasy, he starts to question weather or not there may be stranger explanation to his sister’s disappearance.

The Darkest Universe unravels its mystery over the course of a nicely paced 90 minutes, with the non-linear narrative both following Zac on his search, whilst revealing to us the conditions that led to Alice’s disappearance and the breakdown of his own life. It is a sharp, often very funny, and very thoughtful screenplay, one which explores character complexities with a steady probing nature, constructing characters who seem very believable and grounded.

Where the limitations lie are in the production values. There is the inescapable lack of depth that occurs when a cheap camera is used, and while some shots do have great potential, they never quite come to life with the ambition that Sharpe and Kingsley are clearly trying to achieve. The more surreal aspects of the film particularly suffer as a result, as they are kept from progressing to a level that feels all that unsettling or impactful.

Some of the acting leaves much to be desired, but thankfully this is only really concerned with the smaller players of the piece. Sharpe himself impressively conveys Zac’s state of mind across the proceedings, switching from a determined confidence, to high-strung rage with occasionally startling results. Yet it is the performances of Ghosh and Thomas as Alice and Toby that impress the most. Both Alice and Toby are very introverted people, who struggle to fit in, who find a kindred spirit in each other. It is a relationship that feels very delicate, very sweet, and very convincing, and that is largely put down to the sensitive performances from Ghosh and Thomas. The main reason we also become wrapped up in Zac’s mission to find Alice and Toby is not due to our concern for his well-being, it is because of our concern for theirs.

The Darkest Universe hinges on the strength of its central intriguing mystery, and does very well to keep you guessing, as well as to thread certain doubts into your mind, particularly as Zac becomes a more unreliable protagonist. The conclusion is a little frustrating, if only due to its elusiveness, and your reading of it will largely depend how much you are willing to embrace the more suggestive nature of the proceedings. Nonetheless, The Darkest Universe is a film which boasts an impressive screenplay, an eye for character, and a couple of very well-judged performances. It feels somewhat limited at times but is budgetary restrictions, but it certainly demonstrates that Sharpe, Kingsley and Ghosh are talents worth keeping a close eye on.

The Darkest Universe review by Andrew Gaudion, November 2016.

The Darkest Universe is release on November 4th, 2016.