If psychological thrillers are your thing, get ready for a cinematic excursion into the mind and memories of a character to determine whether they are a killer or a victim. From first time director Jorge Dorado and producer Jaume Collet-Serra comes Mindscape, a crime thriller with a dash of mind-exploring madness.
Leading man Mark Strong plays John Washington, a detective with the unique ability to enter people’s minds and memories (presumably to help people recall event details pertinent to solving cases). Washington takes on the case of a troubled teenage girl named Anna, played by up-and-coming young actress Taissa Farmiga, who is accused of an attempted triple homicide. To uncover the mystery surrounding Anna and her story, Washington will enter her mind and try to find out the truth: is Anna capable of killing, or is there something hidden in her memories that shows otherwise?
Trippy, huh? The film obviously brings Inception to mind, and is very reminiscent of Tarsem Singh’s ambitious mind-entering thriller The Cell. There is certainly room for another film in this vein of having the mind as a major setting, but whether it will live up to its surreal plot remains to be seen.
Although the trailer may come off as not much more than a run-of-the-mill murder mystery spruced up with some mind-entering abilities, I think there a few things which lend potential to the film. There is a strong possibility of a noteworthy twist at the end of the story, judging by how in the span of that short trailer Farmiga appears to be a victim, killer and sociopathic brain stalker all in the same breath. Also, while Jaume Collet-Serra may not be a household name quite yet, he is attached to this film as producer and “creative mind” behind the story. Whether that means anything to you may hinge on whether or not you enjoyed his two most recent directorial efforts: Orphan and Unknown.
There is no release date quite yet, but we will keep you posted when one is announced.
Do you agree that Mindscape has some potential, or will it fall short of the bar set by Inception? Let us know in the comment section below.
