Kosmos

David: Well, it looks like we are just all about the combined posts this week. Today we are doing a special post on a movie that was referred to us by one of our Twitter followers, @sihorrock. Simon Horrocks is a writer, director, and producer from North London. He has also made the movie Third Contact. He funded Kosmos from his pocket, as well as by using a kick-starter campaign. You can see the page here. Here is a link to the IMDB page for Kosmos and here is a link to the movie itself. It’s available free on YouTube.

Well, Shannon, I enjoyed the film overall. To give a bit more background on it, Kosmos started as a web series. After some increased success and funding, it was edited together to create one feature film. I would recommend viewing both the individual episodes and the film in its entirety to get the full picture. I will start off by saying that Kosmos is a complicated film that has a lot going on simultaneously. The plot is difficult to explain, but we’ll do our best here.

Shannon, what was your initial take on Kosmos?

Shannon: My initial reaction is pretty much the same. I enjoyed the film throughout. I’m glad that you gathered more information on it, because I could definitely tell that it had more of a “TV show” feel than a “movie” feel. I think that episodes normally have a few different things going on to the story-line rather than just one story like a movie would have. I’m still unsure of how all of these things fit together, so I’ll have to take your advice and watch the individual episodes to try and get more information. Even though I felt like there were too many background stories going into one movie, I find myself wanting to know more about each aspect: the brain device, the strange video messages, and the crazy mother-in-law. Each of these things are interesting in themselves. What are your thoughts on these three plot devices during the film?

​David: To go into what I think about those pieces of the film, I think I should probably go into the plot of the movie a bit. The movie is the story of Philip Huyt (Jeff Dahlgren), a geneticist that is coping with his wife Amy’s coma. There seems to be a lot of mystery surrounding her illness. Everyone seems to say “We all knew this was going to happen” but no one really can or will elaborate as to why. Along with this, a doctor involved in Amy’s care uncovers some lack of protocols when she was admitted into the hospital. This mystery is expanded upon when Louis (Marc Zammit), a person who may work for the insurance company (or may be acting to for his own motivations) shows up with his own device in order to help Philip.

This brain device (which I’m not really sure what it’s called - did we just miss it?) allows Philip to enter Amy’s mind. There were a lot of suspicious circumstances, definitely involving Amy’s mother (Virginia Hey), Diana Lord. She seems to be up to no good. As for the strange video messages that Phil receives throughout the movie, I have no idea. Maybe, as you brought up verbally, they have some connection to Amy’s illness.

For me, this was kind of the running theme of the movie. Questions were being presented left and right, but I wasn’t getting the answers that I craved. I saw on his Twitter that Simon recently wrote three full length features, and I hope that one of them is a Kosmos sequel so that I can be involved more in the world Simon has created. I really thought that the emotional core of this movie was what sucked me in, as well as the cast’s strong performances. What parts of the movie do you think worked the best, and what did you think of the individual performances? Were there any that stood out to you?

Shannon: What kept me intrigued were all the questions that were presented. What’s with the baby cries that Philip hears in the beginning of the movie? Who is the girl working at the hotel’s front desk? I feel like she has a big role in what’s going on with Amy, but I’m not sure why… Also, I don’t understand the title of the movie. Is this going to turn into something having to do with space? Or is it the kosmos of the brain? Is that a thing? The individual performances were varied. The character that stood out the most to me was the mother-in-law. She was obviously up to no good and with Virginia Hey’s acting, I could totally tell that something was up. Okay, I have one more question… what was the point of that bar scene with the bartender and the chick from the hotel front desk? It was pretty awkward.   

​David: I’m not really sure. I had almost forgotten about the crying baby, but that’s a great question. I don’t really have an answer to most of the questions you asked. All these questions just leave me wanting to know more, and maybe will warrant multiple watches in order funny unravel some of the complexities in the plot. Simon, if you are reading this, get working on the sequel (Please).

I really enjoyed some of the acting. I thought that Jeff Dahlgren did a good job conveying the emotion of a distraught husband dealing with his comatose wife. Some of the scenes may have been a little over the top, but I think overall everything was very good. I agree with you on Virginia Hey though - she really pulled out a win for this film. She was equal parts mysterious, regal, and bitchy - and it seemed like with all the questions, we needed a bad guy to root against.

My main question was WHO WAS THAT GUY WITH THE WEIRD EYE? He seemed to be popping up in random scenes. It made me think of the famous comic book person, “The Watcher”, who was the grand overseer of the Marvel Universe for a while.

Ok Shannon, do you have anything else you want to say about Kosmos before we wrap it up?

Shannon: Nope. I think our readers should go watch this movie. I’m going to give Kosmos a “Liked it” rating.

David: Ok, I’ll close by saying that I give Kosmos a “B+”. I want to personally thank Simon for recommending this film, following us on Twitter, and just putting up with me as I pestered him with questions about his film. Thanks for tuning in doublefeaturepreachers readers (and all our future ones that have come from Simon’s media)!
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