A man (Thomas Sadoski) starts to believe that his new friend (Jake Robinson) who heās working alongside him on the town newspaper might be a sociopath. Known only as The Narrator and The Kid, the two men get locked into an unspoken battle with The Narrator attempting to prove that The Kid is mimicking him and lying about his own life.
āThe Mimicā is the latest film from Thomas F. Mazziotti and itās an existential comedy in the vein of āI Heart Huckabeesā. Giving no names to any of its characters, and for the most part concentrating solely on two characters, the film could easily be translated into a play. With fast-paced dialogue and quick exchanges, thereās a lot to take in over a short space of time and Iām fairly sure the film will sail over a lot of peopleās heads.
Mazziotti injects sophisticated and nuanced dialogue into the mouths of The Narrator and The Kid, who spend much of the film swapping observations about one another and questioning what they know of each otherās lives. The Narrator is convinced that The Kid is unable to be an individual in his own right, instead believing that The Kid is basing his very being on him. Shot in almost episodic scenes, thereās no particularly strong plot that binds the film together so itāll very much depend on if you buy into the bizarre ride that unfolds.
Itās difficult to truly categorise āThe Mimicā, which will make it difficult for audiences to appreciate it. On the one hand itās appealing to an intelligent audience that likes to ponder yet on the other itās trying to pass itself off as a comedy. Quite honestly, Iām not sure it really succeeds as either. Thereās not enough plot to please the viewer and itās not actually all that funny, but you feel it really ought to have been.
What canāt be criticised is the performances of Thomas Sadoski and Jake Robinson. Both actors are excellent in their respective roles and they throw themselves into Mazziottiās bizarre world. Whether or not they themselves had any clue what was going on while they were making it is a moot point, but they spar well on screen and make for an entertaining duo. I just wish that theyād had more character to work with.
āThe Mimicā tries everything it can to keep you off-balance and for most people itāll succeed but in the process it may put them off. The material here is packed with ideas but it doesnāt really tell a cohesive or coherent enough story to get the audience to buy into it. Iām all for a wacky film thatās trying to do something a bit different but for me, āThe Mimicā never really finds its feet.
Cast: Thomas Sadoski, Jake Robinson, Gina Gershon, Jessica Walter Director: Thomas F. Mazziotti Writer: Thomas F. Mazziotti Certificate: Unrated Duration: 81 mins Released by: Gravitas Ventures Release date: 5th February 2021