"Prospect" | Review
I’ve always said that films that feel like a play have a unique power. These films have a limited scope and focus on a handful of characters more than trying to sell you on something grand. But what happens if the “Film Play” can do both?
That’s what ‘Prospect’ is to me. This indie sci-fi film is the brainchild of Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell, who are also the amazing minds behind the Sci-Fi Production Company Dust, which I highly recommend you check out. As with any film, you should really watch it yourself to get a sense of its theme, but in my words, this is a Western set in something akin to a pre-fall Destiny sci-fi setting.
Where Earth or the core worlds are situated in this cosmology does not matter, because the film tracks the very literal edge of explorable space, which is recovering from a galactic Gold Rush. Instead of gold, what has drawn so many unscrupulous characters is something biologically made, nestled in the earth.
A toxic, toxic moon.
The first thing to keep in mind is that what this film lacks in grand movie production, it makes up for with tantalizing and enthralling lore, easter eggs, amazing prop design,and curiosity-inducing vagueness. Their world-building method gives you just enough to let your mind do the heavy lifting in the most satisfying way.
Cast-wise we are primarily orbiting Sophie Thatcher as the indomitable ‘Cee’ and Pedro Pascal’s hyperliterate but cunning Ezra. To reference my earlier play analogy, this film is eloquently carried by two leads who project a sense of strong personality and captivating intensity. Pedro Pascal came to my attention as the decadent Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones. But now we know him as The Mandalorian. When watching ‘Prospect’ the jump from this film to The Mandalorian makes far more sense and helps flesh out Pascal’s many facets as an actor.
Yet for me, the star is still Sophie Thatcher as Cee. She is a character that befriends you with few words and even more spirit. What Cee begins is a coming of age tale set in a desolate and visceral scenario. The film doesn’t deign to show you the full arch, but poetically explains the ending in visuals. I expect, and hope, to see more great things from Sophie Thatcher’s arsenal of gestures and thespian intelligence.
Sophie Thatcher as Cee
But the devil, or ‘Prospect’, is in the details. The window dressings of this film hold such a singular and unique flavor that it would also be a mistake to rest the movie’s strength purely on the acting.
The Seattle based TAKA Collective, the design firm behind the props and aesthetics, headed these visual efforts which the directors have referred to as Painted Rust'. In fact, far be it from me to attempt to explain this idea. Spend some time with this amazing article by Talkhouse.
There are so many atmospheric and near-psychedelic inflections in this film that it’s worth a couple of watches at least. I myself plan on taking it for another spin when the opportunity best presents itself.
What excites me and inspires me so much about these sorts of films is that they banish a series of myths about what it means to bring Science Fiction and fantasy to the screen. Where we often lean for the larger more visually reliant productions, we may leave those films feeling unsatisfied and not know why. This is because the flashy right hand of CGI was distracting us while the left hand of story and character withed in the shadows.
The ‘Quiet Friend’
Where our beloved Marvel movies show consistent strength in digital wonderlands our indie gems prism to us the light of screen-craft and word-smithing. The ecosystem of visual media for the nerd needs both these things as much as the other. Where one stream runs dry, we can find the creek of the other.
I’ll be honest in saying that there is a potentially very uninformed part of me that fears the silence from Dust films in regards to another feature is signal of depleted bank accounts and lack of interest. I’m probably wrong, and I hope I am. Similar in tone to the tradition of Neil Blomkamp, I think that Earl and Caldwell are a much-needed vision and voice in this medium. Getting past tired sci-fi facades and faded tropes will breathe a lot of life back into the soil of the genre.
So with all that rambling above, I can’t recommend the movie enough. Even if you find yourself looking for a hazy afternoon film, or just wanna get taken for a ride, Prospect will at least be memorable for the uninitiated and inspiring to the acolyte.