Crime dramas have an abundant and rich history, both in cinema and on television. While procedural or episodic crime dramas have become the most mainstream iterations of these stories, over the past decade or so there has been a quiet resurgence of the “Neo-noir” genre. The narrative focus shifts away from procedure and instead focuses more directly on the characters involved. Gemini is strikingly adept visually and carves out a distinct aesthetic presence but, sadly, it lacks the substance to match its style.
Writer/Director Aaron Katz is no stranger to noir-ish stories, having written and directed Cold Weather and Quiet City, but this is his highest profile project so far. In talking to the Los Angeles Times about this film at South by Southwest, Katz revealed his motivations behind the script. After living in LA for many years, he wanted to focus mainly on navigating a multitude of layers in the city and the aspects of personal identity associated with celebrities and the adjacent culture. He isn’t the first filmmaker to take issue with elements of Hollywood, but his stylized take on the city is sure to garner some attention. His idea was certainly setting-specific and couldn’t have happened anywhere else, but bringing that to life in a meaningful fashion that worked in the context of a thriller was going to be a challenge.
From a visual standpoint, everything was very polished. Location manager David Hunter and his assistant Anna Tveritina found some amazing houses to shoot in, which established a strong sense of affluence and style. It created the foundation to build on and Andrew Reed’s cinematography took full advantage of those locations with some great interior framing (maybe a bit too much) and particularly excellent use of lighting and color. Reed is a frequent collaborator of Katz, so he was able to include a few creative shots too….they don’t dominate the film, but they turned out nicely. At times it felt like the narrative was getting bogged down by an overindulgence of artistic shots and scene setting. Katz served as the film editor as well, but a solid five minutes could have been trimmed in the editing room to help with the pacing. While the movie has a relatively short runtime slightly north of an hour and a half, it felt closer to two hours.
A large part of the tempo problem came from the screenplay. While Katz’s script outlines an interesting idea, it lacked significant character depth across the board. The plot is centered around a homicide and the main character at the center of the investigation. There just wasn’t much in the way of background that gave context to who she is or her behaviors. Almost all the secondary and tertiary characters are more interesting….more tangible representations. As a result, the majority of the screen time is spent on one character’s journey and it wasn’t satisfying in any meaningful way. There comes a point where the primary puzzle fueling the story just sort of solves itself, which ruins the whole “mystery” thing. As far as a big reveal that’s worth the investment, it ends up a bit contrived. Without the payoff, the final product is more character examination than noir and without the strong lead character to build around, the audience is left holding the bag.
The lead role of Jill LeBeau was played by Lola Kirke, you might recognize her from her two highest profile roles in American Made or Gone Girl. As much as the character design had issues, Kirke wasn’t the problem. There isn’t much in the way of an emotional pendulum here, despite her character being at the center of a murder investigation, so range is something we don’t get from her. She seems to have a good sense of humor and relatively positive demeanor (all things considered) which works well early, during character establishment, but not so much once things turn dark. There’s too much Zooey Deschanel, either in the character or in the performance, but it’s noticeable and generally out of sync with the overall tone of the movie. This wasn’t a wowing portrayal by Kirke, but it showcased a lot of her best assets and will definitely put her on the map. Given the right character, we could see much more out of her.
For all its abundance in style, there is no use in pretending that this was a performance driven film. Kirke was surrounded by some pretty good talent that simply didn’t have the benefit of the dialogue or significant character depth. I’ve never been a big fan of Zoe Kravitz but she began to turn me around with her performance in Big Little Lies and did more to bolster my support for her with this role as Heather Anderson, an actress in the paparazzi spotlight. While she is the subject of the plot, the movie isn’t about her…and that’s just the kind of weird which the film cultivates so well. Kravitz was better than I expected but was never quite convincing as a big time tabloid commodity. That aspect of the character just wasn’t established well and the audience has to take it all on good faith. Kravitz does display emotional depth and vulnerability, but the moments were too few and far between to actually matter.
It was nice to see John Cho doing in a role with a little more weight behind it. Playing Detective Edward Ahn, the lead investigator in the murder case, he showed a more matured and paternal side. It would have been nice to know more…well, anything about his character but Cho brought a lot to someone who was mainly there to push plot points. Similarly, Nelson Franklin was very enjoyable playing Greg, a filmmaker whose project is dismantled when Heather decides to suddenly drop out. His character serves a singular function, but in that capacity he was likely the most enjoyable performance in the film. I’d guess it’s because his character is most similar to Katz himself, so his dialogue is the most robust and ultimately the most profound.
While there may not have been a great deal of emotion in the script or its characters, Keegan DeWitt’s original music did a lot to fill in the gaps. He’s scored all of Katz’s films, so there is a camaraderie which must help achieve the right vibe. It’s an interesting blend of contemporary and retro jazz influences which, at times, gave off a Silk Stalkings kind of vibe…sexy but still serious and heavy with some room for humor. Between what we see and what we hear, the film actively engages the senses and adds invaluable quality to the project.
The last thing we see as the end credits roll is a wide shot view of downtown LA from the Hollywood Hills and its just slowly crawls, closer and closer, inch by inch. So, message wise, there is certainly something about Hollywood, something toxic that is being pointed to. In some of the final dialogue, Ricki Lake’s character Vanessa even used the words “this is real life”. There’s definitely some commentary on how the Hollywood elites live on the outskirts of reality and what it costs the individual to do so. Somewhere along the line of trying to make that point, visual artistry won out over character crafting.
Recommendation: There are reasons to watch this movie, but those are mainly related to the filmmaking side of the equation. It’s cool, it’s got a stylish creepy vibe to it and often looks great on camera. However, that likely isn’t enough for the majority to invest in it.
Grade: C