Calvin Reeder's "The A-Frame" presents an amalgamation of concepts related to confronting death and escaping it, clothed in the veil of fantasy. Despite its direct confrontation with terminal illness, the film loses focus when it dabbles with science-fiction and becomes an obscure blend of dark humor and existential fables without fully embracing either.
"The A-Frame", heavily reliant on dialogue, sets the stage in a therapy group for cancer patients. The thoughtful yet straightforward Linda (Laketa Caston) leads this group and introduces the film's fear and longing. The movie, however, struggles to connect with its protagonist, the sarcastic Donna (Dana Namerode), who joins the group after her diagnosis. Donna's poignant humor veils her emotional turmoil, a layer that the film, unfortunately, fails to penetrate.
The plot thickens when Donna, a pianist on the brink of losing an arm to cancer, meets the dubious scientist, Sam (Johnny Whitworth), who presents her with a seemingly lucrative opportunity. Despite his knowledge and unverified claims about parallel realities affecting cancerous cells, Sam's methodology remains untested. Consequently, Donna and other patients face the moral dilemma of submitting themselves as guinea pigs for this unproven treatment.
Unfortunately, the film only loosely incorporates ideas of multiple universes and their entanglement into the narrative, despite their frequent mention and the fascinating visuals in scene transitions. The film appears hesitant to explicitly engage with its genre concepts, either visually or thematically. This cautiousness from "The A-Frame" results in a film falling short on the emotional level despite its premise offering ample exploratory opportunities.
The directorial constraints of the movie become evident with the static editing during conversations, focusing more on the information transfer than the underlying emotions. Occasional bright sparks, like the comedic interludes provided by Donna’s friend Rishi (Nik Dodani), lift the murky narrative but fail to sustain the much-needed drama and emotional depth.
"The A-Frame" attempts a more visceral approach towards death through a brief body-horror segment. It adds a fleeting sense of realism to the movie's otherwise detached treatment of cancer. Yet, the approach is inconsistent and only augments the ongoing issue with the film's tone.
The narrative consistently falls short in determining its identity – whether humor, seriousness, or pathos should dominate. The performances compound this confusion, concentrating more on obscuring than revealing. Consequently, the film's exploration of death from a genre perspective is stunted and laconic, making it too reserved for such a deeply personal subject.
