In case you didn't know it, a psychonaut is someone who explores the human mind. That's how literal and straightforward this movie is, all about a young woman who ends up entering the mind of her dying girlfriend in search of the one essential memory that could save her life. Things do get muddled up, because travelling through a mind and a mass of memories isn't something neat and tidy, but Psychonaut never twists and turns quite as it should.
Julie Batelaan is Maxime, AKA Max, the young woman who ends up desperate enough to try out some experimental treatment that could save the life of her girlfriend, Dylan (Yasmin Blake). The treatment has been created by Samantha (Fiona Dourif), although identites become fluid and blurry as memories start to crash like waves against the shores of the here and now. Meanwhile, a vengeful figure (Lloyd Hamwijk) seems determined to barge into memories where he shouldn't be present.
It's a surprise to find that this isn't the first film from director Thijs Meuwese, but less surprising to find that it's the first feature from co-writer Lawant. Some lovely black and white cinematography, helping the whole thing to feel very noir in between moments when the sci-fi element comes to the fore, and the strength of the acting from the leads isn't enough to make up for the lack of any proper tension or momentum. And the occasional splashes of colour don't help, although it differentiates between the main environments that the characters are moving through. Someone with a bit more creativity, and perhaps a slightly bigger budget, would have been able to use colour much more effectively, maybe even helping key memory touchstones to stand out from the rest of the monochromatic limbo.
Both Batelaan and Blake are very good. The odd thing is that Dourif should be better. She's not bad, but she's nowhere close to being as good as she has been in other projects. This might be as much to do with how she's wasted as it is to do with her actual performance, which feels a bit out of sync with how everyone else is. Hamwijk gets to spend most of his time looming over proceedings, and does well enough, and it's worth mentioning that everyone does well to work with a screenplay that doesn't always serve them well.
Not terrible, but surprisingly boring, considering the premise, and without seeming to say enough throughout the 87-minute runtime (it feels much longer than that), Psychonaut sadly remains a frustrating display of unfulfilled potential throughout. Kudos to Jasper Verkaart for his visuals, and well done to whoever did the casting, but I can't recommend this. The noir style doesn't stick, the science isn't used in an interesting enough way, and, one or two scenes aside, the drama lacks any major impact.
4/10
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