Biosphere (2023)

Smith’s Verdict: ***
Reviewed by Tanner Smith

“Biosphere” is the latest from Duplass Brothers Productions (DBP) and also the directorial debut of Mel Eslyn, who is in fact the president of DBP and best known for film producing. It’s a science-fiction buddy-movie hybrid film featuring only two characters in one contained space–and right away, I was hooked on seeing this film because Mark Duplass & Sterling K. Brown play the two characters in said-one contained space.

Duplass (who also co-wrote the film with Eslyn) is Billy and Brown is Ray. They’re the only two people living within the confines of a loft-condo-sized bio-dome–and they’re apparently the last two people left alive on Earth. We don’t know what exactly happened or how the world seemingly ended–we just know that Billy, who was the U.S. President prior to the event, accidentally had something to do with it, and Ray, a scientist, is his childhood friend who built the dome and brought Billy in at apparently the right time. Oh, and there’s nothing but blackness outside. Billy & Ray are the best of friends. They do everything together, they work together to keep everything running that keeps them alive, and they often chat about everything from “Super Mario Brothers” to other pop-culture references such as “Jurassic Park” (“Life finds a way”).

Two things happen that throw their whole personal environment out of whack. One is there’s a mysterious green light outside, seen through the glass layers of the dome–what does it mean? Another is…well, I’ll leave that for you to discover. I didn’t see it coming, and…let me just say that even if you can guess where these characters are headed in the film’s general story, I doubt you’d be able to guess how they get there.

…And I’ll also say that it is probably the strangest twist of any film this year and it will probably turn some people off because it is insane how it transpires–but I stayed with it because I was curious as to how these two characters, who are engaging and played by two truly engaging actors with undeniable chemistry, handle it. Thankfully, so much of it is intriguing and kept me invested in where it was going.

Now…I’m not entirely sure I get the ending of “Biosphere.” BUT I am invested enough to ponder it. This is one of those films I may have to see again in order to fully appreciate it–but I definitely will, because it gripped me on the first viewing.

Take that recommendation for what it’s worth. But I’ll try and sum it up again because I did enjoy this film:

It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.