REPEATERS (Carl Bessai). 94 minutes. Opens Friday (April 22). See listing Rating: NN
Groundhog Day for addicts. Two guys and a girl in a Mission, BC, rehab centre get simultaneous electrical shocks and, just like the Bill Murray comedy, find themselves trapped in a day that keeps repeating. One of them takes it as a licence for escalating violence.
For all three, it’s the day they’re supposed to begin making amends to the people they wronged as addicts, step nine in their 12-step program. Kyle (Dustin Milligan) and Sonia (Amanda Crew) give it a shot. Mike (Richard de Klerk) doesn’t bother and, once their dilemma becomes clear, decides to turn it to his advantage. Drunkenness and robbery escalate to rape and murder.
The idea makes a good metaphor for the recovery process and everybody’s need to move on with life, but this is only a so-so movie. There’s no shortage of action, but it never heats up very much as either drama or fantasy.
That’s due to pedestrian dialogue, a pair of male leads who, while competent, look like actors, not addicts, and a climax that comes out of nowhere and makes no sense in terms of character or premise.
Director Carl Bessai makes good use of the Mission locations but relies heavily on TV-style two-shots.
