Sundance (Online) Film Festival 2025 #1: OBEX (2025)
A lo-fi Lynchian nightmare that I wish I liked more.
Preface
OBEX further proves that while Albert Birney definitely has a unique style of filmmaking that I deeply appreciate, his work just does not click for me in the same way that it does for other people.
However, I do have to start things off by praising the amount of originality and talent that is displayed on-screen. It is clear that Albert Birney and the rest of the crew put a lot of effort into this film even with the budget that they were working with. Birney’s direction for this film does a great job in capturing this feeling of uneasy tension & atmosphere all throughout the runtime even when not much of significance is happening plot-wise. His usage of ambience, beautiful black-and-white cinematography, & creepy music, in particular, shine through when it comes to establishing this specific mood and soundscape of the film, all adding a layer of deep apprehension to every single frame. I also give a huge amount of credit to the visual effects team for the incredible work that they brought to this film. There are many vibrant VFX choices (especially the lo-fi approach to said effects) combined with Birney’s exceptional approach to editing that bring a ton of life into the film and craft a highly believable world that feels entirely one-of-a-kind and features quite a few striking images as a result. In general, even when the story falters (which I will talk about in a little bit), you are still left with a ton to admire on a direction & technical level due to how masterful a lot of it is.
The performances in this movie are also pretty solid for the most part. Regardless of how big or small everyone’s role is, they put their heart into making these characters feel as genuine as possible despite the film they are inhabited in. Albert Birney himself plays our main protagonist, Conor, and he brings good work to the table here. Even though he feels limited by the screenplay at multiple instances, he does succeed enough in bringing the right amount of heart to a character who will not stop at anything to get his dog (Sandy) back. As far as supporting performances go, the main standout in this department has to go to Frank Mosley as Victor. For a character that has a rather goofy (in a charming way) design, he does bring a ton of warmth to his character within the short period of time that he is on-screen and has one of the best acted scenes in the entire film. I cannot remember the name of the actress who plays Conor’s Mom at the moment, but I thought she stood out a lot and found her to bring a ton of eeriness to the role even if that aspect of the performance could have been toned down a bit.
Although there is quite a bit to enjoy about this, I still would not go as far as to call it great by any means. My biggest problems with the film have to do with the story along how it is written & paced. For a good chunk of the first half, there is not much of significance happening other than watching Conor at home with his dog Sandy and the life they share with each other. I get that this was done to establish the bond they share with each other, but I felt like it could have been condensed a bit to make the screenplay feel tighter. Also, when Conor does finally get around to playing the titular OBEX, it still takes a while for the plot to get going due to the needless amount of set-up dedicated to the midpoint of the film where Sandy finally gets captured. Plus, the story is one that bites off more often than if chews on from a thematic standpoint because of how surface-level its exploration of themes such as isolation and the blur between fiction & reality are. Might seem a bit unfair of a comparison to make, but it reminded me a lot of Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw The TV Glow (which premiered at Sundance last year) except more shallow and not nearly as impactful on an emotional & psychological level as that film was. Even the nightmare-esque imagery that is shown in the movie, while cool to look at, does not carry the same level of fright factor & narrative significance as TV Glow’s does.
As you can tell, I have a ton of conflicting thoughts when it comes to OBEX. It is a film that I wholeheartedly respect and give applause to the filmmakers for making something fresh & ambitious, but it definitely could have used some improvement from a story and writing standpoint to make it reach its full potential. Therefore, while this is not a bad film by any means, it is yet another piece of work from Albert Birney that does not work for me as much as I would have hoped it would.
And that is it for today’s review! Do be on the lookout for more Sundance 2025 coverage throughout these next few days! See you all again next time!
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