Biosphere: Wonky Sci-Fi Wobbles on Weak Screenplay but Pleasantly Surprises Anyway

By Chris Knight

Rating: B-

Biosphere is likely to surprise you. Whether in a good way or not depends on what you’re expecting.

Certainly, the notion of “two men in some sort of self-contained environmental bubble” gave me some preconceptions. So too did the Black-and-white casting of Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass, the latter of whom also co-wrote the screenplay with first-time director Mel Eslyn.

But none of these notions played out. To wit: Biosphere does not concern itself greatly with the usual science-fiction questions of how our characters got inside their dome sweet dome; how long they’ve been there; and when (or if) they expect to leave.

There isn’t much time devoted to the workings of the habitat, except to show that it’s quite small, clearly jury-rigged, and precarious. And the characters of Billy (Duplass) and Ray (Brown) are refreshingly free of racial baggage.

So where does that leave us? Well, it seems the two are longtime friends, going back to a childhood in which Ray was the beneficiary of a birthday-party magic trick that forever shaped his worldview. As adults, he became a scientist, and also worked for Billy, who was briefly (and quite recently) President of the United States. It was on his watch that whatever happened to put them in the biosphere, um, happened.

There isn’t much more to be said about the plot. Many of the garden-variety questions you may have won’t be answered at all. And to raise some of the more specific queries would require a spoiler that even the trailers don’t deliver. Suffice to say that life in the tiny biosphere takes a turn that will leave its inhabitants (and audiences) questioning their friendship, their beliefs and even their masculinity, and what these things mean to the survival of the human race.

The results are… interesting. Recall that Duplass first made his mark in the early-oughts film movement known as Mumblecore, part of a group that included Barbie director Greta Gerwig. He hasn’t hit quite the same level of fame, but remains an arresting presence on the screen, all the more when helping carry a small story like this one, rather than relegated to minor-supporting work in larger productions. Brown (TV’s This Is Us) needs less introduction and proves an able dramatic partner here.

Read our interview with Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown

The problem is the screenplay, full of ideas but none of them fully baked enough to support the hour-and-46-minute running time. Biosphere feels like it needs some additional plot threads — perhaps in flashback, though I do admire the film’s consistent immediacy. It’s not based on a short film but has the pacing of a movie that was expanded from a short without enough additional fuel to burn.

It’s still not bad, and its pacing works surprisingly well given its paucity of plot. Fans of the actors, or of low-key, high-concept sci-fi, should be pleasantly surprised. For others, mere surprise may be all that awaits.

Biosphere. Directed by Mel Eslyn. Starring Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass. In theatres and on demand July 7.