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Aw hell, I’m always complaining about wanting to see something new and Rebecca Eskreis’ “ClearMind” is something new. It’s such a mixing of genres that it eventually comes out of the other end as this unusual amalgam that’s hard to peg down. I dare you to peg this in one hole. It’s a dramatic science fiction situation comedy about grief that follows a woman who uses virtual reality to become a slasher. There are shades of horror, and satire about new age medicine and the quackery of nonsense like Goop et al. It’s so far and away amorphous that it’s tough to hate it.
It’s a bit too long in the tooth, true. And so much of the expository dialogue feels like empty palaver as a means of padding the run time. Nevertheless, I cared about these characters and was pretty engaged in the central conflict concerning Nora (Rebecca Creskoff) who hasn’t really moved on much after the unfortunate drowning of her daughter during an outing with her friends and their kids. Years later, Nora learns about their reuniting for another big get away and she hasn’t been invited. Bitter and betrayed, Nora uses her virtual reality therapy to—um—“cope.”
The movie is helped by the strong cast, all of whom are so good at bringing these obnoxious characters to life on-screen. Toks Olagundoye, and Kadeem Hardison are very good, as are Seana Kofoed, and Matt Peters, respectively. The ensemble help to flesh out what are virtually unlikable albeit fascinating side characters, all of whom are stuck in this endless cycle of self-destruction, and coveting each other’s personal lives. While director Eskreis does deliver on such a unique and weird premise, the movie never really clings on to one genre for a long enough time.
The VR angle is more a tertiary element, while the themes of grief from the loss of a child get lost in the endless mumblecore dialogue between side characters. Through it all though there’s a charming element to “ClearMind” that, even if you don’t like it, you’ll be glad that you at least gave it a chance. It’s well made, creative and I didn’t hate myself once the credits rolled. I commend Rebecca Eskreis for twisting such a tired premise like the “forty somethings at a crossroads” dramedy and just tossing in so many unique elements that you just have to give it its due.