Only

The film’s other path consists of the month leading up to the beginning of the film recounting the arrival of the comet, the devastating infection, the mass hysteria, and general paranoia. We see Eva regularly logging into a private online forum with other women throughout the world and slowly observing the number of participants dwindling. Will, on the other hand, becomes overly protective of Eva. He controls her every movement and loudly scolds her when she forgets a step or two in maintaining their protective, sterile environment. The pair started as lovers, and now their relationship morphs into the protector and the protected.

There’s an eerie moment when the duo hits the streets and enters a ransacked grocery store. Only the gluten-free food remains (I kid!) and feels oddly authentic as I desperately scour the city for toilet paper. In fact, it’s hard not to watch the film and become paranoid ourselves. Is this our future?

“…makes a global catastrophe actually appear global with minimal resources.”

So, let’s pretend the world is normal. Only is a fantastic, low-budget epidemic thriller. There’s not a lot of special effects. The locations are limited to a city apartment, some rural country store locations, and the forest. The use of CG is minimal to only the occasional new reports. Director Doscher, instead, makes a global catastrophe actually appear global with minimal resources.

What he also does so well from a story standpoint, is bring an extra dimension to the relationship between Eva and Will. In the present timeline, Will is in charge, and Eva follows his every command. But in the flashbacks, you see this relationship was not always like that as Eva fights for a sense of independence at times, and he presents the events leading up not only to the nature of their current relationship but also to the important ending moments of the film. It’s subtle but brilliant.

I think it’s safe to say that Only might hit a little too close to home at this time, and you’d be right. As a film, though, it’s a good one, and I might argue that the timeliness just adds a little more to the realism of the film. That said, it fits firmly in the thriller category as opposed to horror, and the thrills are only aided by Frida Pinto and Leslie Odom, Jr.’s performances.