An new Sci-Fi Drama – Vesper has released. Helmed by Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper with a script co-written by them along with Brian Clark. It stars Melanie Gaydos, Raffiella Chapman, Eddie Marsan, Rosy McEwen, Richard Brake, Edmund Dehn and Markas Eimontas. The film’s premise despite being a sci-fi venture seems very simple and yet thematically daunting, “After the collapse of Earth’s ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed father, meets a woman with a secret who will force her to use her wits, strengths and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of having a future.” The film had an early release in France in August 2022 and there was nothing but love showered on the film.
Then the film got its release in the United States.. Honestly, after watching the hypnotizing trailer I was genuinely excited for this film as it would be a sci-fi film in a year that has been weirdly devoid of them. Seeing the response that the film has gotten until now it looks like it is one of those big concept, small execution sci-fi stories. The film didn’t release in India but I was desperate to watch this film as the trailer suggested it was an extremely original venture with an offbeat premise. Thankfully, as the film also released digitally, I was able to get my hands on it. After seeing the film and analyzing the critics’ response to it, I’ve some thoughts. Let’s dive right in.
Rating – ★★1/2
Vesper Review – The Good!
Vesper at the time of writing has a 6.1/10 IMDb score while Rotten Tomatoes has deemed it Fresh with a 90% on Tomatoemeter. When I did the reviews round-up for this film, I was extremely happy to see the positive response. I love whenever a new filmmaker comes with a sci-fi film and simply hits it out of the park, like Alex Garland with Ex-Machina. I was expecting something similar from this one. Well, I should probably tell you off the bat that this film doesn’t do that but it can’t be dismissed as well. The film is nuanced with its art and its flaws.
That is why, I thought it would only be fair if I divide the film into three separate sections. The film has a lot of positives. Starting with the world itself. Its fascinating, fresh and daring. I like how it takes the Blade Runner route and simply informs us what is going on so as to not waste time with unnecessary exposition. The lead actress Raffiella Chapman is great in the titular role. Her character is well written and isn’t eclipsed by the overbearing plot or concepts like other sci-fi films (cough-Tenet-cough). I like the relationship between Vesper and her father.
At the start, I was a bit puzzled but as the relationship grows, it becomes beautiful. The information given out is extremely economical as well. There isn’t any exposition heavy scene where the characters unload a truckload of information on you. They give the information as small tablets. The production design is the best part of the film, the VFX doesn’t feel fake. For a film made in 50 Lakhs EUR, it looks rather expensive. The film’s direction and cinematography are alright, they’re not bad but nothing special either.
Vesper Review: The Bad!
The film was made in Europe, so I understand that the treatment of the film would be in a European way. However, I think the faulters because it feels too European. We’re used to American cinema now and while it isn’t perfect but it is the most common. Now, when I watch European dramas I know what I’m stepping into. Its world cinema, it would be different. However, when you make a sci-fi film and preserve the “Europeaness” of it, you make it extremely niche.
So much so that, someone who loves sci-fi (me) would have a hard time appreciating the film for what it is. When I said that the character of Vesper is well written, I missed one thing. It is well written but her arc isn’t. For the most part I was struggling to see whether character was going and not in a good way because I understood what the arc of the character would be but I never saw her getting there. The arc is dull and poorly executed. Other then all of this, the supporting characters were not explored as much.
I like Camellia and how she forms a relationship with Vesper but other then the few moments they spend together, I don’t understand her making it difficult for me to understand her actions. Vesper’s father was still a bit better and more interesting but Jonas- Vesper’s uncle was someone I didn’t understand in the entire film. I never knew what he wants. He is the supposed the antagonist of the film but the film can’t go anywhere if the antagonist doesn’t want anything. I hope Camellia was developed further, she was a great character.
Vesper Review: The Ugly!
Do you know what’s the biggest sin for a film? Its not being bad. It is to be boring. Bad films can actually find different ways of being entertaining but boring films are just boring. This is one of them. Despite not having a lot of exposition, the film feels like it is boring. It is very slow. The film is hardly 2 hours long but it feels unfortunately it feels double and the problem is there is no payoff at the end. Films like Arrival or Ex-Machina which are slow paced but they’re never boring because the human drama is so strong.
Those films make-up for their slow-burn nature with the mind blowing twists and payoffs the films have in store for the viewers. This brings me to the next sin that the movie commits. It never explains anything. I know I’ve been raving about the no exposition policy of the film but because the film never explains the world to me it is very difficult for me to invest myself in it. Because I don’t know how and what is important, I’m not able to understand the characters as well. Blade Runner 2049 comes to mind when it comes to exposition done right.
That film too opts to convey information via text but it makes sure that you get enough information to understand the world, the stakes and the threats. I’m afraid the same can’t be said for Vesper. I just hope the textual information exchange was a bit more clearer and longer so I understand the world and then I’m able to invest in it. The world is simply fascinating of what I understood of it. I just hope it was explained better and a better story was explored in this original world. I won’t mind seeing more stories in the world of Vesper. Although, given the end of the film and the lackluster box office performance, I’m not sure that is going to happen.
Verdict
Vesper is a frustrating film as it could’ve been so much better. It is not one of the best films of the year like I suspected it would be but I can’t dismiss it completely and call it bad. It lies somewhere in the middle. I don’t regret watching the film, I simply hope the screenplay of the film was a bit more thought out. I can see this film’s story making a really good novel as it is extremely nuanced but the same cannot be said when it is translated on the screen. Vesper is an extremely niche and dull film but if you want you can watch it. I’ll give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Vesper is currently playing in theatres near you.
If you have any questions regarding Vesper, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!
It is remarkable, rather amusing opinion