Stories of scientists that experiment on themselves has been around since The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Invisible Man. In all these cases, the problem is not bringing out the genie but getting it back inside the lamp. In this case, our scientist find himself facing his own psyche. The movie is going for the cerebral quandary, not the special effects. If you’re ok with a movie that raises more questions than answers, you’ve got the right ticket.
Minor Premise was directed by Eric Schultz and written by Justin Moretto, Eric Schultz and Thomas Torrey. Ethan (Sathya Sridharan) has managed to chart the brain to an eerie degree but his self-experimentation has caused his consciousness to fragment in ten different pseudo-individuals. Each of them is just Ethan with one particular section of the brain heightened to an alarming degree. Now Ethan has to pull himself together… literally.
The film mostly takes place in Ethan’s home and the makeshift lab in his basement. His ex-girlfriend Allie (Paton Ashbrook) is willing to help him navigate the strange phenomena, but they both must keep this a secret from colleague Malcolm (Dana Ashbrook). The catch is Ethan’s mind changes every six minutes. Each different version of Ethan only remembers what they experienced. Some are helpful. Some are not. One of them might be a bigger problem.
The entire film hinges on the performance of Sathya Sridharan as Ethan and his alter egos. They have distinctive behavior and/or quirks to tell them apart, and Sridharan does amazing work in keeping each portrayal separate. That being said, it does feel like less that a handful of them are really critical to the story. I would’ve expect more to be involved.
Recommended with a minor reservation. It has amazing performances and a great premise. I feel like the story could’ve wrapped around a little tighter. Sathya Sridharan’s multiple portrayals of Ethan are well executed and his performances are the highlight of the film. It does raise more than a few questions about psyche and about the nature of memories that I found myself pondering. Worth a watch.
That will do for now.
Never Think Impossible 