— by RACHEL COYNE —
Given the amount of crap that makes its way to mainstream theaters today, it’s always a little disheartening to see smaller films with potential struggling to get noticed.
“Uncertainty” played at film festivals in 2008 and is still hoping for wider distribution. But now that its star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, helped make “(500) Days of Summer” the little indie film that could, “Uncertainty” may not languish on a storeroom shelf after all.
Faced with a seemingly innocuous decision to make, a young couple stands on the Brooklyn Bridge and lets a coin toss make their choice. Then, “Uncertainty” divides into two movies, showing the two possible outcomes. One is a high-energy, action movie that centers around the discovery of a lost cell phone, and someone who is desperate to get it back by any means necessary. The other is a drama that takes place at a family function where the couple debates how, when and if to disclose their unplanned pregnancy. The whole thing reminds me of “Sliding Doors,” but with an action/adventure twist.
“Uncertainty” is the type of movie I typically watch at home on DVD (usually in drawstring pants with a big bowl of popcorn), and the trailer does little to sway me otherwise. It looks like it could be entertaining, but I doubt it will be anything so remarkable that it has to be seen on the big screen. Plus every line that Lynn Collins, who plays Gordon-Levitt’s girlfriend, delivers in the trailer sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me, so it will remain to be seen if I can get through an entire movie of that.
“Uncertainty” will play at the IFC Center in NYC starting Nov. 13, and is tossing a coin in the fountain to wish for wider distribution soon.
Follow Rachel Coyne on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TheOpinionatedB.
I like the premise.