Sarah (Charity Farrell) has been living alone in the country for six years, as some apocalyptic event occurred to leave her as seemingly the only human still alive. Or at least that’s what she thinks until, after such a long time, her sister Lily (Lili Reinhart) finds her way home. And Lily isn’t the only person to randomly show up at the old homestead over the next few days…
JC Schroder’s Forever’s End is not a film for those with short attention spans. While the cinematography is a beauty to behold, the pace is what we would respectfully call “deliberate.” Lots of space in the film for contemplating, investigating and experiencing.
Which can work for a psychological thriller, and I understand how you can utilize a more leisurely pace when telling this story. At the same time, I don’t know that the film brings too much new to this seemingly more prevalent genre. The fact that someone has been alone for six years is telling in itself, and when her long lost sister arrives, you’re already expecting certain revelations or explanations. Coupled with the dreams, or visions, Sarah has been having, while you may not exactly piece together what plot twists will come when, you are able to see them coming.
And that rolls back to the pacing; if the hints are there, and the audience is already expecting something, allowing so much time to tick by as that something is revealed can be slightly aggravating. While I wouldn’t characterize myself as one with a short attention span, perhaps I will admit to a level of impatience here. You know the film is going somewhere, but it’s hard to enjoy the journey when it feels like someone is trying to make me enjoy it with pacing that lingers as the narrative inches forward.
Then again, that could be a flaw in my appreciation and approach. I’m very much interested in what the story is and where it’s going, when perhaps the film is more interested in who Sarah is and how to grow her character. Even there, I think you could do the same thing in less time BUT I’m willing to concede that, if that was the goal, it succeeds there regardless.
So overall, while I found Forever’s End to be an extremely well-made film, I also felt that it was too slow for my tastes. Other than that, though, I found little to criticize. The performances by the actors were strong, and again the film looks really good. If you’re the sort who is one to appreciate the journey over the destination, in almost any scenario, this could be up your alley.
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