Black Box centres on a Black Mirror-esque idea. What if the famous life-flashing-before-your-eyes when undergoing a near-death experience is actually a downloadable collection of core memories, stored in our brains and fundamental to who we are? And what if technology — in this case, a VR headset — could be used to help access, unlock and even abuse those memories, drastically altering our personalities? The science behind the concept is slightly shaky, but first-time director Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr makes up for it with strong characters and clever creature design.
A father-daughter drama full of existentialism and maze-like plot turns.
Nolan (Mamoudou Athie) is a single father struggling with amnesia after a car accident that claimed the life of his wife. Worried about his ability to raise daughter Ava (Amanda Christine), he undergoes experimental therapy sessions in which he’s placed into key moments from his life. A few problems, however. One: he doesn’t recognise the places in his memories. Two: they contain breadcrumb clues of domestic violence. And three: he’s pursued in these dreams by a contorted figure whose bones snap as it chases him around his subconscious.
There’s a passing hint of Get Out to proceedings, as our protagonist is plunged into a dark psychological abyss by a hypnosis-loving older woman as part of his treatment. Black Box, however, is its own film, intent on answering its own questions about identity and sense of self. If it’s our actions that define who we are, then what happens when all memory of that past behaviour is ripped away? Osei-Kuffour Jr delights in keeping us guessing about the true nature of Nolan, who spirals into panic as the Hitchcockian plot unfolds, one perplexing twist at a time.
The film could be tauter, at times feeling like an extended episode of Charlie Brooker’s techno-dystopian series. It could also make more use of its unsettling visuals: Nolan’s memories are full of people with blanked-out faces, an image that chills almost as much as the movie’s broken-boned monster. For the most part, though, Black Box is a success – a father-daughter drama full of existentialism and maze-like plot turns, that keeps viewers guessing ’til the very end.
