As we close the books on 2020 and turn towards a new year, one of the first essential sci-fi features to seek out is Lapsis, a selection at SXSW last year that will now arrive in February. Written and directed by Noah Hutton, with a cast featuring Dean Imperial, Crashing stand-out Madeline Wise, Babe Howard, and Arliss Howard, the film is set in an alternate present of NY where the quantum computing revolution has begun. The story centers on a Queens delivery man who becomes a “cabler” in this gig economy to connect miles of infrastructure needed to have the quantum trading market succeed.
Jared Mobarak said in our review, “I don’t want to say too much since Hutton crafts this look at capitalism’s stronghold over regular people with a knowledgeable eye on how the system works, how it keeps boots on necks, and how those necks struggle to free themselves. With a fellow cabler in Anna (Madeline Wise) showing him the ropes alongside other empathetic souls lending assistance when the app screams at Ray he’s doing something wrong, the big picture gets revealed slowly but surely. From CBLR’s robots keeping workers “honest” (they can overtake your trail and cancel your compensation unless you overtake them back) to a ragtag group of “lost children” running amok and blackmailing novices while their parents cable for the day, this world proves to be its own warped ecosystem of heightened chaos.”
Watch the trailer below.
Lapsis opens on February 12.