Brilliant writer and director Bernardo Britto has changed the game with his new time loop movie, Omni Loop. Zoya Lowe, played by Mary-Louise Parker, is a quantum physicist who finds herself on her deathbed with a black hole growing inside of her. Ever since she was little, she has been taking these little blue pills that take her back one week in time. Even though they’re the reason she’s in the hospital, she replays the last week of her life over and over, just prolonging her time on earth, until one day, she meets Paula. Played by the one and only Ayo Edebiri, Paula, a young aspiring quantum physicist, is exactly who Zoya needed to meet to pick up her research and find a way to control the physics of her magic time-traveling pills, hoping to stop her imminent death.
The story of Zoya and Paula tore me apart as they cycle again and again through this time loop, not because of an insane anomaly trapping Zoya, but because of her desperation and persistence. Each week, Zoya and Paula must conquer new challenges in trying to crack the code to time travel that my little artistic brain couldn’t comprehend. They also delve into each other’s lives, their deepest fears, regrets, and flaws, all while facing the reality of life and death. Then, after all of their effort and growth, Zoya must come to the decision to start all over again, leaving Paula to forget it all. The heart-wrenching back and forth of their experiments, theories, and emotional growth left me speechless and glued to my seat.
Of course, a film geek such as myself cannot forget the amazing production of this piece, beyond the brilliant writing. Bernardo Britto, writer, director, and editor of this film, pulled the whole piece together at a pace I can only describe as perfect. The tempo speeds through lifetimes of the same week over and over again, leaving you feeling as though you are aging with Zoya. Yet, the story is filled with gorgeous, deep scenes between Zoya and Paula, leaving the audience to contemplate the obscurity and reality of life and the choices we all make for what we believe is best. I felt as though I had lived a thousand lifetimes, and I had only been in this theater for under two hours.
And how could I forget the amazing actors who embodied these characters? Parker used her experience in both Broadway theater and the screen to bring the struggle and intelligence of Zoya Lowe to the audience. Her acting brought the silence of contemplation to another level as Zoya essentially walks through her world alone, only being able to hold onto her own thoughts. Let’s be honest with ourselves – we are all just living in the era of Edebiri, recently flooding the credits of some of our favorite shows and movies. Edebiri as Paula brings not only talent and emotional depth, but her classic comedy as well, to such a mind-bending piece. She managed to break through the complexity and sincerity of Zoya and Paula with her witty comments and situational humor, and I couldn’t help but laugh amidst my deep thoughts.
Head to toe, this film blew me away, as Britto took a classic film narrative and made a complicated, thought-provoking piece about life and death and everything in between. As we finally arrive in autumn this year, I’m happy to say this will be my film of the season. This movie is a must-watch, and I would bet it will become your film of the season too.