Gray Matter Review
Streaming Movie Review - Max
In the early 2000’s, the show “Project Greenlight” highlighted first-time filmmakers having the opportunity to direct a feature length film. It had a few seasons on HBO, then moved to Bravo for one season. It came back to HBO in 2015, but was quickly canceled again. It recently came back to Max under the title “Project Greenlight: A New Generation.” The winning director was Meko Winbush, and her film “Gray Matter” is currently streaming on Max.
Ayla (Jessica Frances Dukes) is a woman who possesses superhuman psychic abilities, called a Psionic. Her daughter Aurora (Mia Isaac) has inherited her mother’s powers, and Ayla spends much of her free time trying to teach Aurora how to control them, to try to keep their existence secret. A flashback at the beginning of the movie shows a time when Ayla was unable to control her powers and she has been on the run ever since. She isolates her daughter and moves her from place to place, not allowing Aurora to form any lasting friendships. Despite her mother’s wishes, she forms a friendship with Isaiah (Andrew Liner). But when things spiral out of control, Aurora is picked up by a shadowy organization headed by Derek (Garret Dillahunt), a friend from her mother’s past. Now Aurora must figure out who she can trust.
This movie feels like writer Philip Gelatt took various aspects from stories like “Firestarter” and various X Men movies and Frankenstiened them into a new script that didn’t actually build on those ideas in any way. I don’t mind when movies follow some predictable beats, but this one is predictable without being interesting. What seems like the most pivotal scene in the movie, one that is referenced several times throughout, doesn’t really have the kind of payoff one might hope for given its prominence in the film.
The performances are all fine. Isaac is a really talented actor and I look forward to seeing what she does going forward. I always enjoy her when I see her and this was no exception. She is by far the brightest star in this movie. Dukes gives a good performance, but it is hampered by a script that casts her in a fairly unlikable light and never really fleshes that out, making it hard to connect with her character. Dillahunt is a fun villain and he is clearly having a good time chewing up the scenes he’s in.
There’s nothing terrible about this movie. I felt like the pacing was pretty good, and it didn’t feel like it was stretching its 87 minute run time at all. There are a few visuals that really work and if you’re looking for something to watch that won’t be emotionally or intellectually taxing, this one could be a good choice. But it’s clear that the team didn’t have psychic powers or they might have seen that this one was going to need a little more work to be truly successful.
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on July 22, 2023.