2020 / 97m - Canada
Mystery
3.5*/5.0*
Flashback poster

Watches

July 20, 2021

3.5*/5.0*

MacBride is ambitious. Flashback is a pretty typical mindfuck mystery, one of those films where the main characters falls deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole. MacBride wanted more though, and tries to inject the film with a little extra drama. He probably shouldn't have, but at least he deserves kudos for trying.

When Frederick's mom is given only a few more days to live, he digs into his past and hits a past trauma. In his year book, he finds a picture of an old friend he can't seem to remember. He seeks out his other high school buddies, and they too seem to have forgotten about her. The more Frederick tries to remember, the more he loses grip on reality.

Films like these tend to rely heavily on audiovisual elements, and MacBride delivers. Slick color and lighting, flashy camera effects, sharp editing and an atmospheric, boosted score make this a very visceral experience. The film peaks too early though and MacBride seems to lose touch with the plot during the final 20 minutes, but that's only a minor quirk. A very nice film, looking forward to MacBride's future projects.