Uncertainty (film)
Encyclopedia
Uncertainty is a 2008 indie
drama
and thriller film, written, produced, and directed by American independent filmmakers Scott McGehee
and David Siegel
, and starring Lynn Collins
and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
. It was first released at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.
Distribution rights were acquired by IFC Films
and was limited released on November 13, 2009. It was simultaneously made available to cable viewers via Video-On-Demand
.
The film was shot in HD on the Arriflex D-20
.
) and Kate (Lynn Collins
) are a young couple who have been together ten months. Kate is 11 weeks pregnant. They can't make up their minds where to go on the Fourth of July, or whether to have the baby, and decide to flip a coin. After Bobby flips the coin, they both run off Brooklyn Bridge
in opposite directions. From that moment on we follow two separate storylines.
The one storyline takes place in Brooklyn, where Bobby and Kate decide to go visit Kate's family. On the way they pick up a stray dog, whose owner they try to locate. Kate's family has its own share of family drama, with an uncle of Kate who is institutionalized and suffers from memory loss, a brother who died five years earlier, and a sister who is taking a year off before going to college, much to her mother's dismay.
The other storyline takes place in Manhattan (beginning in Chinatown), where Bobby and Kate find a cellphone, which is worth $500,000. They try to set up an exchange, but after narrowly escaping pursuit from a killer, Bobby throws the cellphone onto a passing boat.
Both storylines end the next day, on a bridge, with the lines "What do you want to do now? / What do we do now? I don't know. I guess we just keep going".
The storylines are also set apart by the clothing of Bobby and Kate. In the Chinatown storyline they both wear easily recognizable yellow, a dress for her and a t-shirt for him, while in the Manhattan storyline they are dressed in more subtle shades of green. In the first scene on the bridge Kate wears the yellow dress from the Manhattan story, while Bobby wears the outfit he'll wear in Brooklyn.
The title seems to be based on the Heisenberg uncertainty principle
of quantum mechanics, which can be illustrated in the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox, involving two particles moving off in opposite directions and having separate yet related properties.
, from 24 reviews counted.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
and thriller film, written, produced, and directed by American independent filmmakers Scott McGehee
Scott McGehee
Scott McGehee is an American film director and screenwriter. He is a Columbia University graduate, born in California, but currently residing in New York City.He is half of a long-standing writing-directing partnership with filmmaker David Siegel....
and David Siegel
David Siegel
David Siegel is an American motion picture screenwriter and director, and part of a long-standing writing-directing team with filmmaker Scott McGehee.-Filmography:*Suture *The Deep End *Bee Season *Uncertainty...
, and starring Lynn Collins
Lynn Collins
Viola Lynn Collins , better known as Lynn Collins, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Kayla Silverfox in the live-action film X-Men Origins: Wolverine.-Life and career:...
and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt is an American actor whose career as both a child and adult has included television series and theatrical films....
. It was first released at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.
Distribution rights were acquired by IFC Films
IFC Films
IFC Films is an American film distribution company based in New York, owned by AMC Networks. It distributes independent films and documentaries under the IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. It operates the IFC Center....
and was limited released on November 13, 2009. It was simultaneously made available to cable viewers via Video-On-Demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
.
The film was shot in HD on the Arriflex D-20
Arriflex D-20
The Arriflex D-20 is a film-style digital motion picture camera made by Arri first introduced in November 2005. The camera's attributes are its optical viewfinder, modularity, and 35mm-width CMOS sensor. The camera was discontinued in 2008 and the Arriflex D-21 was introduced.- Overview :The D-20...
.
Plot
Bobby (Joseph Gordon-LevittJoseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt is an American actor whose career as both a child and adult has included television series and theatrical films....
) and Kate (Lynn Collins
Lynn Collins
Viola Lynn Collins , better known as Lynn Collins, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Kayla Silverfox in the live-action film X-Men Origins: Wolverine.-Life and career:...
) are a young couple who have been together ten months. Kate is 11 weeks pregnant. They can't make up their minds where to go on the Fourth of July, or whether to have the baby, and decide to flip a coin. After Bobby flips the coin, they both run off Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
in opposite directions. From that moment on we follow two separate storylines.
The one storyline takes place in Brooklyn, where Bobby and Kate decide to go visit Kate's family. On the way they pick up a stray dog, whose owner they try to locate. Kate's family has its own share of family drama, with an uncle of Kate who is institutionalized and suffers from memory loss, a brother who died five years earlier, and a sister who is taking a year off before going to college, much to her mother's dismay.
The other storyline takes place in Manhattan (beginning in Chinatown), where Bobby and Kate find a cellphone, which is worth $500,000. They try to set up an exchange, but after narrowly escaping pursuit from a killer, Bobby throws the cellphone onto a passing boat.
Both storylines end the next day, on a bridge, with the lines "What do you want to do now? / What do we do now? I don't know. I guess we just keep going".
The storylines are also set apart by the clothing of Bobby and Kate. In the Chinatown storyline they both wear easily recognizable yellow, a dress for her and a t-shirt for him, while in the Manhattan storyline they are dressed in more subtle shades of green. In the first scene on the bridge Kate wears the yellow dress from the Manhattan story, while Bobby wears the outfit he'll wear in Brooklyn.
The title seems to be based on the Heisenberg uncertainty principle
Uncertainty principle
In quantum mechanics, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle states a fundamental limit on the accuracy with which certain pairs of physical properties of a particle, such as position and momentum, can be simultaneously known...
of quantum mechanics, which can be illustrated in the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox, involving two particles moving off in opposite directions and having separate yet related properties.
Cast
- Lynn CollinsLynn CollinsViola Lynn Collins , better known as Lynn Collins, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Kayla Silverfox in the live-action film X-Men Origins: Wolverine.-Life and career:...
as Kate - Joseph Gordon-LevittJoseph Gordon-LevittJoseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt is an American actor whose career as both a child and adult has included television series and theatrical films....
as Bobby - Assumpta SernaAssumpta SernaAssumpta Serna is a Spanish actress. She is known for her roles in I, The Worst of All portraying famous Mexican religious scholar Sor Juana, Nostradamus, The Craft, and Wild Orchid, although she may be most remembered for her role as Peninsular War guerrilla commander Teresa Moreno in the first...
as Silvia, Kate's mother - Olivia Thirlby as Sophie, Kate's sister
- Nelson Landrieu as Felix, Kate's father
- Louis Arcella as Diego, Kate's uncle
Reception
Uncertainty has an approval rating of 54% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, from 24 reviews counted.