Discontinued (2023) Film Review
In Discontinued, the human races discovers the world is actually a simulation. We’ve been under the impression of absolute control, but it’s actually a machine that’s been running things. But that’s not the worse: the problem is the simulation is actually going to end in a few days. Sarah, a very anxious and pessimistic young woman, receives the news and decides to use her last days for… something.
This is sort of a “coming of age” sci-fi film that never follows the guidelines of the genre and instead stays within the boundaries of drama. What’s very weird (but quite functional to the mood of the film) is that writer/director Trevor Peckham takes his time with delivering not the premise of the film, but developing the whole persona of his main character. The first act consists of a short film through which we are able to connect with Sarah on a very personal way. Peckham doesn’t rush things and burn off his most interesting resources. He respects the presence of Sarah and her issues and gives her enough dramatic depth for us to accept her for who she is, even if we don’t agree with how she sees things.
Peckham channels Sarah’s encounter with reality through an unprecedented event that allows her to relax and see life in the most relaxed manner: by understanding and observing these are the last days of her conscience. What many would consider to be the “necessary” meeting is actually very awkward for Sarah. She decides to see her parents for the last time and what she gets out of this afternoon is her realizing that she feels normal during a crisis of humankind. The key theme here is control, the one everyone lost and now Sarah feels she’s grasping. Improbably. The film’s premise is thoroughly explored in these pivotal scenes with Sarah making her peers and the audience understand an impending end to things.
Again, this doesn’t make her perfect. We’re not supposed to like her regardless of her acts because Peckham takes a naturalistic and organic approach to a woman facing the end of her life. In the past, when Sarah felt she had no control, she toyed with the idea of ceasing her existence. But now there’s control. Now that she knows. She even tries self-destruction, but it doesn’t work for her. What is she seeking but reason during the most important moment of her short life. The secret lies in how others see life and Sarah witnesses this sad realization by the world. She even says “Maybe what’s happening now is the point, maybe it is about where we go next”. But her uncertainty is what keeps us there. We want her to thrive. How Sarah accomplishes things and encounters the darkest side of her reality is divisive and will probably change a few minds because of the tragic setting. Personally, I felt like it was a poetic twist that actually made her more interesting.
In a film that’s very disconnected from a grounded reality, the performance by Ashley Hutchinson feels magnetic and truly honest. Peckham’s film isn’t oriented towards science fiction and the ordeal of some of its rules. This is pure drama, and Hutchinson is responsible for this. For making Sarah’s extraordinary journey one that’s compelling and seriously uplifting.Oh and Langston Fishburne as a sort of Morpheus-like figure? Very, very nice move.
