by Diana Gebbia, Contributing Writer
The exploration of life after death isn’t a new concept, but Mali Elfman reinvents it in a beautiful and thought-provoking way in her directorial feature debut, Next Exit.
The film, which premiered at this year’s Tribecca Film Fest, focuses on an unsettling experiment, led by the mysterious Dr. Stevensen (Karen Gillan). Participants in The Life Beyond Project volunteer to peacefully end their lives in the name of researching what happens in the afterlife. Our main characters, Rose (Katie Parker) and Teddy (Rahul Kohli), have both been jaded in some way that makes them eager to sign up for this macabre endeavor.
Rose and Teddy start off as strangers, who, thanks to some rental car confusion, unwillingly end up road tripping together from New York to California. The audience becomes the third passenger on their journey, which is filled with plenty of literal and metaphorical bumps in the road. On the way to their very final destination, the pair comes face to face with past demons, which make them question whether or not death is the solution to escaping life’s problems.
Next Exit forces its audience to confront their feelings about death, just as much as Rose and Teddy do on screen. There’s a blatant discomfort in focusing on characters that are ready to die, which makes you reflect on how many people would follow in their footsteps in real life, especially given the current climate. It’s not an easy theme to explore, but it is a necessary one.
But thankfully, it’s not all darkness. Elfman’s organic way of storytelling effortlessly blends the gravity of death and demons with the levity of a budding friendship. The sheer awkwardness of being trapped in a car with a random stranger allows for plenty of laughs in this story. And there’s humor in the number of cheeky similarities between Dr. Stevenson and the once-promising entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, who was ultimately convicted of fraud for her medical “findings.”
Both Parker and Kohli give powerful performances that make you give a damn about their characters. There’s an undeniable chemistry between the two that naturally evolves throughout the film. Kohli delightfully brings an air of humor and boyish charm to Teddy that remains present even during his most emotional scenes. Parker has a talent for showing the duality of Rose’s complex personality. She’s raw and gritty, but also soft and delicate, just as people who have faced a lot of trauma can be.
Although the concept of The Life Beyond Project is disturbing, it also brings morbid curiosity, which I felt Elfman could’ve used more to her advantage. I wish the movie delved a little deeper into the development of Dr. Stevenson’s experiment, and her character. Exploring the dark mind of a doctor who is ultimately playing God with vulnerable test subjects would have pushed the film further into the horror genre.
Overall, Next Exit is a profound movie that will make you think deeply about your own life, and simultaneously entertain you. It’s definitely worth a watch.
Score: 7/10
Next Exit is currently available on VOD
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