IR Film Review: SIGNAL ONE [Radial]
Like "Annihilation", "Contact" or "The Arrival", good science fiction about intelligent life in the cosmos has to be done in a very specific way but with the technology we have at hand. "Signal One" from writer/director Jonathan Sobol takes quantum tech and uses it to create sounds in the air in a specific way. Isabelle Fuhrman, best known for her title role in "Orphan" takes on a very intelligent, instinctive and fascinating new role as a scientist who figures out an algorithm that can open up portals of communication. But like "Contact", it is all about the primer and the billionaire to push it. In comes Dennis Quaid, in a science fiction piece that brings to mind his earlier "Frequency" role (or even "Innerspace") but here being the harbinger to bring it full circle. Alongside Fuhrman is Josh Hutchenson, fresh off "Five Nights At Freddy's". This film is not overtly intellectual for its own good but it is smart and more importantly, its characters are smart, and yet also flawed and egotistical.
What the film does well is that it encapsulates the action on a small island and yet the impact is seen worldwide without any huge set pieces. A simple rooftop scene and a blackout effect in NYC with Quaid does the trick. Hutchenson and Fuhrman work well together but this isn't "The Hunger Games". The discussions they have make sense and yet the intent of what each of them want, despite being on the same side, is very different and that is what motivateds the tension. Jared Harris plays a scientist slightly off his rocker that figures into Ian Malcolm's idea of "Even if we could, should we?" The bigger contention of the US government also comes into play as a failsafe of course pressuring the would-be billionaire. However, Like "Annihilation" when a new occurrence opens up a certain communication (like "Contact" as well) is it even a question to move forward? The climax plays this very well since (like "Annihilation") it is almost retrospective (and retroactive) without a true notion of aftermath (or if there is one). This is what works quite well with "Signal One". It is not about horror. It is not about action. It is about choice and character and how that changes the outcome of any situation. And even though it pays narrative homage to others, it does stand on its own two feet, mostly buoyed by good acting and a subtle, nuanced performance by Isabelle Fuhrman. A-
By Tim Wassberg
