Diminuendo, as it turns out, is unpronouncable to the massess, and so is this film.
As with a clumsy portmanteau, it seeks to be more than the sum of its parts.
At times a soap opera with a B-list cast, at others a sci-fi thriller with supernatural notes, and finally touching on horror, it's rather bewildering, and as a result seems much longer than an hour and a half. It reminded me 'F/X Murder By Illusion', but without the pace. And there are moments from Richard Attenborough's 'Magic' - from the doll.
On the plus side, it's original. But many of these new ideas make no sense, and fall flat. It feels like it's too ambitious, like it casts aside plot development and characterisation in the pursuit of the dramatic punchline. The central premise of the film, Cello's death, makes the least sense, as we are given no background nor cause except the briefest, badly handled scripted exposition. "Oh, right, OK then", we are meant to say. I could provide a long list of plot situations which will make you shout or lol. The first-meeting sex scene, for example, is a huge stretch (pun intended).
There are a couple of good performances, but the better actors struggle with a clunky and often cliche-ridden script, and the central character's weathered and real world appearance condemns the rest of the cast to skin-deep superficiality. Some of them are more plastic than the robot.
On the other hand, I was occasionally tempted to think it doesn't take itself all that seriously, and that there is some kind of buried social commentary about the movie business. Let's hope so.
It won't be the best film you'll ever see, but it might give some food for thought about future possibilities. Unfortunately the future possibilities at the start of this film were never realised.
