Biosphere (2023)

Biosphere (2023)

Life finds surprising ways in this hopeful, offbeat post-apocalyptic indie

7.3

Movie

United States of America
English
Comedy, Drama, Science Fiction
2023
FEMALE DIRECTOR, MEL ESLYN
Mark Duplass, Sterling K. Brown
106 min

TLDR

You absolutely will never have seen a bromance like this before.

What it's about

Humanity must find a way to avoid extinction when two men are the last survivors of some kind of apocalypse.

The take

There's an elephant lurking in the room from the outset of Biosphere, in which two men are the last survivors of an apocalypse: how will humanity live on? Best friends Billy (Mark Duplass) and Ray (Sterling K. Brown) have only survived thanks to the ingenuity of Ray, who built the glass dome in which they live, insulated from whatever it is that’s keeping the sky perpetually black outside. But the dome’s protective glass increasingly needs patching up, and their last female fish (responsible for the continuation of their food supplies) has just died, setting their clocks ticking.

What happens next — to the remaining male fish and humans — is an astonishing evolution that speaks to the strangeness of nature, which will break its most rigid laws in pursuit of its ultimate goal: furthering the species. Biosphere undergoes a similar metamorphosis: while its zany twist (which we won’t spoil) seems to direct it towards gross-out bro-comedy territory, it transforms, surprisingly, into something more profoundly philosophical. Like the dome, Biosphere’s structure isn’t as solid as it could be — it often meanders — but, with its thoughtful meditations on gender, sexuality, and evolution in all its forms, it’s easy to forgive this quirky indie gem that flaw.

What stands out

With such a claustrophobic setting and a relatively long runtime of 1 hour and 46 minutes, it would be very easy for Biosphere to feel suffocating — and quickly. Its surprising philosophical bent spins the film away from that fate, though, and the easy chemistry of its two-man cast (in spite of the complex emotion of their situation) pins it all together to give its wacky concept genuine heart and keep the film both light and engrossing.

Active Streaming Deals

$50 Off DirecTV Stream

$74.99

$64.99

Active Streaming Deals

69% Off NordVPN + 3 months Free

$14.99

$4.99

Active Streaming Deals

50% Off Sling

$40

$20

Active Streaming Deals

49% Off ExpressVPN

$12.95

$6.67

Comments

Add a comment

What did you think? Who should watch it?

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

Christmas As Usual (2023)

A misguided Christmas take on multicultural romance

3.0

Last Call for Istanbul (2023)

A seemingly generic Turkish romance travel film, until it gets into its second half

7.0

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Martin Scorsese grapples with harrowing history and the limits of storytelling in this monumental masterpiece

8.7

Forgotten Love (2023)

The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama

7.7

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.

9.1

Wedding Games (2023)

A lighthearted Black Brazilian romcom with all the familiar wedding shenanigans

6.0

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

Nightmare Alley (2021)

A psychological thriller of the highest quality, masked as an adult fairytale, by the great Guillermo del Toro

9.0

A Deadly Invitation (2023)

A Mexican whodunit that feels more like an infodump than a compelling murder mystery

5.5

The Conference (2023)

A Swedish slasher comedy with the world’s worst team building retreat

7.3

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2023 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.