Think about if “Child Driver” was a tragic, music-free exploration of psychological decay, and also you would possibly be capable of begin picturing the tensest theft sequence in “Gazer.” Similar to Ansel Elgort’s tinnitus-inflicted getaway driver, Frankie (Ariella Mastroianni) must put her headphones in earlier than she tackles a harmful job. However she’s not blasting Queen or The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
The struggling single mom suffers from dyschronometria, a deteriorating psychological situation that leaves her unable to precisely understand the passage of time. Seconds and minutes seamlessly flip into hours and days in a approach that leaves her consistently questioning when she is. It’s a workable, if inconvenient, state of affairs when your greatest concern is lacking a health care provider’s appointment or zoning out at work. However when you’ve a matter of minutes to steal automobile keys from a harmful man’s condo earlier than he comes residence, the dangers turn out to be significantly larger. So she pre-records second-by-second directions for herself with the hope that she will maintain herself within the second by listening to her personal pleas. However when the doorknob turns and she or he’s compelled to cover underneath the mattress, her choreographed plans crumble and she or he has to plan her escape and not using a web — or an inner clock.
Marrying the manic paranoia of “After Hours” with a “Memento”-esque unreliable protagonist and touches of flesh-bending physique horror that could possibly be ripped straight from “Videodrome,” “Gazer” is the sort of debut that ought to restore your misplaced religion in unbiased cinema. Self-financed by rookie director Ryan J. Sloan and shot in between shifts at his day job as an electrician, the 16mm thriller is a white-knuckler that feels persistently contemporary regardless of sporting lots of its traditional Hollywood influences on its sleeve. Sloan invokes ’70s sleaze and the “By god, this goes all the way in which to the highest!” conspiracies of traditional noir in equal measure, however his movie stays so grounded in its personal world that it by no means devolves into an homage to something particularly. “Gazer” is perhaps impressed by New Hollywood, however its existence is nearly motive to imagine {that a} related filmmaking renaissance could possibly be on the horizon.
Frankie may not perceive time within the typical sense, however she’s definitely conscious that her clock is ticking. Her younger daughter is being raised by her late associate’s mom, who by no means lets Frankie go to after the state deemed her an unqualified mum or dad resulting from her incapacity to finish every day duties. She will inform that the woman is rising up in a house that’s negligent at finest and probably a lot worse, and her window to make any reminiscences along with her daughter is quickly closing. Medical doctors warn her that her impaired psychological state will solely worsen, and it received’t be lengthy earlier than she’s incapable of dwelling on her personal. She’s determined to inventory away a little bit cash for her daughter’s future earlier than she’s too incapacitated to advocate for the woman’s security. However that’s exhausting to do when even probably the most menial jobs fireplace you for poor time administration.
The state of affairs appears bleak, however Frankie finds a lifeline in an surprising place when a lady calling herself Claire Reznik (Renee Gagner) approaches her at a trauma assist group. Claire acknowledges Frankie’s face as a result of she noticed her gazing by means of a window whereas her boyfriend assaulted her. The lady explains that she’s struggling to depart an abusive relationship and doesn’t have a good friend to show to. She has an escape plan, however she wants somebody her neighbors received’t acknowledge to sneak into her condo, seize her automobile keys, and stash her automobile in a secure spot. She presents Frankie 1000’s of {dollars} for one night time’s work — and Frankie isn’t within the place to show down anybody who presents to pay her.
It looks like the right heist on paper, simply two strangers utilizing one another’s tragic conditions to carry themselves a step nearer to freedom. However issues get difficult after Frankie does precisely as she’s informed. Claire ghosts her with out paying her charge, however that turns into the least of her issues as soon as cops present up at her door. Claire by no means picked up her automobile, however the authorities did — and because it seems, there was a useless physique within the trunk. With Frankie’s fingerprints everywhere in the steering wheel, she’s now the prime suspect in a homicide case she is aware of nothing about.
Mastroianni, who co-wrote the script with Sloan, carries the movie along with her paranoid efficiency as Frankie. Sporting a uneven pixie reduce and drab garments, she blends into the gray New Jersey surroundings as she sidles by means of seedy motels and run-down homes with the hopes of clearing her title and getting her daughter again. As her psychological colleges slip away, her hallucinations immerse her in a world that begins to look much less and fewer just like the one she really lives in. However regardless of how twisted her notion of the world turns into, her earthly need to get her daughter again and clear her title grounds her simply sufficient to maintain pushing ahead. Unreliable but deeply relatable, she’s a quintessential thriller protagonist whose distinctive thoughts is perhaps the one factor able to untangling the unusual internet she finds herself in.
Frankie may not have a lot time left after the credit of “Gazer” roll, however there’s each motive to imagine that cinephiles might be having fun with the work of Sloan and Mastroianni for years to return.
Grade: A-
“Gazer” premiered on the 2024 Cannes Movie Competition. It’s at the moment looking for U.S. distribution.