3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not): Redux Redux

2025, The McManus Brothers (The Block Island Sound) -- download

We have a tag for "multiverse" with most of it being dominated by Marvel's attempt. I have found that most pop fiction breaks the genre into two areas: parallel worlds, where we are only exposed to and only care about two, and a multiverse based on branching timelines leading to endless possibilities. But my favourite has always the idea of an infinite number of universes that are not inherently based on timelines -- all exist at all times. I still think Sliders portrayed the best example of this.

Interestingly enough, the Wikipedia article on the scientific idea of the multiverse has a brain-breaking number of versions / theories. As for a Wikipedia article on the "multiverse in fiction" it redirects to one only about "parallel worlds" which tells me, there is some work to do.

Irene (Michaela McManus, Law & Order: SVU) is on a journey. She arrives, seeks out a dilapidated house, fishes for a box from under the bed and pulls out a lock of hair labelled "12". Then she seeks out Neville, the owner of the house and kills him. Sometimes she kills him in the house, sometimes she kills him at his place of work where he works as a short order cook. After each murder she climbs into her mechanical coffin, flicks a switch and BOOM, she's in a new parallel universe. 

Irene has been doing this for a very very long time. She has a routine where she kills him on payday, to get money. She has a giant ring of keys to get a rental truck in which to carry her multiverse hopping coffin. Some keys work in the next universe, some do not. She has a gun, either carried with her, or retrieved next time she kills Neville, from his own stash. 

Neville (Jeremy Holm, House of Cards) is / was a serial killer and Irene's daughter was his last victim. In each universe she arrives at, he has done the same thing AND in each universe Irene herself is not present, because each subsequent universe's Irene had killed herself in grief over the loss of her daughter. Irene is a broken woman showing the wear & tear of her journey on her face, and on her body, as the murder doesn't always go smoothly. Most trips she gives herself one small reprieve, sleeping with a man she meets at a Grief Support Group, the same man every time. 

That said, I just realized there must be a time component to this universe hopping -- as she always arrives just before that Thursday when Neville gets paid, before she meets and sleeps with Jonathan.

Then, on one trip, she meets and frees Mia (Stella Marcus, feature debut), who was to be "13". That's new. Mia's a broken runaway and, of course, Irene cannot help but she her own daughter's plight in Mia's face (and fate). Irene sees this as a one-time occurrence, freeing Mia to go back to whatever life she had, but Mia is quickly wrapped up in Irene's journey as she is forced to take to her with her on the next hop. From there it only gets more complicated.

The world building of Irene and her universe hopping coffin is next to nil. We don't know where she got it. We are introduced briefly to others who have such equipment, a sort of network of rundown smugglers. We know Irene can go onto the next universe but also can go back to one she has previously visited -- she offers to take Mia back to hers. Irene calls her universe 0-0. But that's it. The movie is primarily about the tragedy that is Irene and what this technology has allowed her to do / become. She doesn't want that for Mia but 15 year olds with terrible lives have other ideas. 

Surprisingly the movie actually does provide a satisfying conclusion to this journey. I won't spoil it but it provides a reason for both to stop hopping. Revenge can finally be done with. As with all indie movies, this is rough around the edges. But like all good indie movies, you can see the dedication in the actors and film makers present everywhere. Sure, certain choices are made for the sake of budget but few distract away from the story. This was a solid movie that made me think, and want more, but still be satisfied with what I got.