Lapsis (2020)

Jack and I loved this sci-fi dramedy about a naive man struggling to make money, in a world somehow both futuristic and backward, by physically laying internet cables in American forests. When it ended I said to Jack, "I have never before thought a movie was too short!" There are twists and turns and it's all clever and timely, even as the production design mixes modern hand-held mobile devices with old-fashioned tube televisions.

Scrolling through the comments of a Reddit article by the filmmaker once again reminded me why I do not read reviews before watching movies. They bring me down. It was not a documentary, folks! Soon I'll be posting about the ballot I cast for the Independent Feature Project Spirit Awards. I voted for this one for Best First Screenplay.

Our hapless hero is played to perfection by Dean Imperial; his ailing little brother by Babe Howard; the sardonic blonde in the forest by Madeline Wise; and the doctor by Arliss Howard.

Noah Hutton, son of Debra Winger and Timothy Hutton, directed, wrote, edited, and composed the score. After Hutton, Winger married Arliss Howard and Babe Howard is their son and therefore Noah Hutton's half-brother.

I'm streaming Hutton's 20 minute soundtrack on Apple Music. It's also for sale on Amazon and other outlets but doesn't appear to be free anywhere.

Imperial had a role in one short film (and was a staff writer for the series Imposters) and Babe Howard makes his acting debut. I probably saw Wise in the series Crashing but don't remember (I'll probably remember her now). Arliss Howard was just seen playing Louis B. Mayer in Mank and has dozens of other credits. Hutton, making his feature debut, has directed five documentary features and three shorts and has no acting credits.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics, averaging 93%, are more aligned with us than its lapsing audiences at 78. You can rent it on iTunes or Prime, as we did April 6.