At its core, “Naked Singularity” embodies the traits of an inventive, or at the very least, entertaining, film. But, as social commentary, solid casting choices and science-fiction swirl together in Chase Palmer’s debut feature film, the result is a startlingly confused piece of kitschy, clunky neo-noir.
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Casi (John Boyega) is out of his element. The uncompromising, impulsive New York City public defender finds himself at his breaking point, frustrated and sleep-deprived, unable to save those trapped within a system cracking beneath the weight of its own flaws. As case after case slips through his fingers, and subsequent anomalies implicate an upcoming doomsday scenario, the young lawyer switches sides and dips his toes into the criminal underworld after Lea (Olivia Cooke), a former client, involves herself in a drug deal that threatens her life.
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Based on Sergio De La Pava’s novel, “Naked Singularity” possesses no shortage of high-concept ideas, and the film secures its footing in snappy repartee and philosophical underpinnings. Supported by an A-list cast giving dedicated performances—Cooke’s portrayal of Lea, a jaded yet vulnerable ex-convict, stands out as the movie’s finest actorly offering—the movie attempts to skirt by on the charisma of its leads for the first two acts. Joined by Craig (Ed Skrein), a reptilian-obsessed street thug, and Dane (Bill Skarsgård), Casi’s coke-addled public defender colleague, the film’s endeavor to merge quirk and intellect can be best described — regarding its atmosphere and execution — as a cross-hybrid of “Roman J. Israel” and “Donnie Darko.”
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Although the actors manage to elevate the material, the characters themselves never expand beyond two-dimensional archetypes, thus complementing the social commentary, which passes unexplored in any substantive fashion and falls into excessive generalizations and painful clichés. Regrettably, “Naked Singularity” invests its energy in attempting to merge real-world parallels with its otherworldly analogies. Still, due to the ineptitude of the former aspect and overall lack of the latter element, the movie completely fails to achieve its goals.
Palmer’s directorial decision to combine cosmic sci-fi with a gritty crime flick promptly proves itself a recipe for jarring tonal changes and misbalanced pacing. The ever-elusive impending collapse of the universe encompasses an inconsequential fraction of the storyline. Thus, despite its relationship to the plot, it comes across as awkward and misplaced amidst the naturalism that occupies the remainder of the movie.
Thematically, as one can assumedly deduce from the summary, the metaphysical title functions as an allegory for the shortcomings of the United States’ criminal justice system, specifically regarding its treatment of racial minorities and lower-class citizens. Yet, mirroring the celestial phenomenon at the heart of its story, “Naked Singularity” swiftly collapses in on itself, diffusing into a conglomeration of miscalculations and misfires. By celebrating its characters’ choices to compromise their ethics and engage in criminal behavior, the film negates all redemptive qualities and never manages to acknowledge the fact that its leads have devolved into the very people they have sought to stop. In the aftermath of the third act’s stylistic shift into goofy quips and random violence, any semblance of emotional investment vanishes.
As the final scenes impart a saccharine message about criminal justice reform with a distressingly simplistic, unethical cure-all, one cannot help but feel exhausted and confused. At the same time, one can appreciate the time, effort and talent invested in the project—albeit from a withdrawn point of view—the film’s tone-deaf resolution borders on offensive. In a parallel universe, perhaps “Naked Singularity” might have delivered on its bold aspirations, but in the world in which it exists, that is, sadly, not the case. [D]
