Mysterious events surround two travelers as they make their way across a remote American landscape. On the surface all seems normal, but what appears to be a simple vacation soon gives way to a dark and complex web of secrets.
Mood prevails over narrative momentum in this elliptical drama that's admirable for its vision even as it keeps its characters at a frustrating emotional distance.
The Strange Ones is a solid movie on first watch that becomes a seriously good movie on second watch. Maybe that's a poor framework for an endorsement, but the film is more than the shock of its climax.
It's an artful, boundary-pushing debut from Radcliffe and Wolkstein, with breakthrough performances from Freedson-Jackson, and Pettyfer, perhaps signaling a new direction in his career.
"Ones" isn't much of a puzzle, often too laborious to inspire deep consideration, missing a fundamental screen energy that could help with all the layer-peeling going on.
