Movie Review: “Alienated,” A Film Of Mystery, Madness, And Maybe Magic, Leaves You Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

[yasr_overall_rating]
 

After seeing a UFO, a man and his skeptical wife are forced to confront their relationship issues.

Written and directed by Brian Ackley, our story is told from the point of view of Nate (George Katt), a painter struggling with his own creative outlook and outlet. His current inability to paint leads him to performing mundane tasks around the house: cooking, cleaning, washing, and standing outside alone staring at the night sky. During one of his stare-sessions, Nate sees something. Though it is never actually revealed what he sees in the sky, he claims it to be a spacecraft. He records the sighting on his video camera. When he tries to show the video to his wife, Paige (Jen Burry), she is completely uninterested in the findings. Nate is on his own in believing in the possibility of there being something else out there and that we are not alone in this universe. The only other person that slightly believes Nate is their neighbor, Griffin, played by Taylor Negron.

The film drags its plot at an extremely slow pace. Through bland dialogue between the characters, filled with unnecessary exposition and forced conflict, we learn that the story at hand is more than just about aliens and their possible existence or non-existence. This film explores the marriage of two people. Two people who, everyday push each other further away from one another in their struggle to retain closeness. If you are able to get past the typical clichés throughout, we see also that each character of this three-person cast feels alone, not too sure that the outside world understands their ideals and personalities. Nate, as an artist, cannot explain his own artwork to others and is not too sure what it means to himself; Paige struggles with understanding Nate, his artwork, his interests as an artist, and his beliefs of the existence of alien lifeforms. This puts a rift between the two, leading to many discussions turning to arguments, silences, and eventual, mutual aloneness. Griffin is understood by no one. His eccentricity puts him in a category all his own.

“Alienated” moves at an extremely slow pace. Though the characters are slightly one-dimensional, Katt, Burry, and Negron do their darndest to bring enthusiasm and life to the screen. Their performances help to push through the forced dialogue and very long scenes of nothingness that progress relentlessly until the end. All do a fantastic job. If you have some time to kill, and would like to explore the history of a relationship, by all means, have a look. Otherwise, you can probably skip this one.

In select theaters and on VOD now