Minor Premise – Movie Review (3/5)

MINOR PREMISE is a new Sci-Fi Thriller with a simple story that works remarkably well. A great choice if you’re a fan of sci-fi stories that utilize both thriller and drama elements. It does run a bit long but overall, it’s a really fascinating movie. Read our full Minor Premise movie review here!

MINOR PREMISE is a new sci-fi thriller that is definitely worth watching for fans of science fiction. This is a debut and maybe this is why it does feel a bit too long despite having a runtime of 95 minutes. However, please don’t think that this is anything that ruins the movie in any way.

In fact, the simple plot of Minor Premise is intelligent and works remarkably well. A really fascinating movie with wonderful performances from its small cast.

Continue reading our Minor Premise movie review below.

A different kind of split personality

What I really enjoyed about Minor Premise was watching the lead actor play out many different versions of the same character. The movie begins with Ethan (played wonderfully by Sathya Sridharan) accidentally splitting his own personality into various fragments. This makes for a very different kind of split personality where each fragment gets only a few minutes at a time.

Obviously, this requires quite a lot of the actor portraying Ethan, which Sathya Sridharan handles brilliantly. However, it also requires a lot from the person interacting with him for most of the movie. In this case, it’s Alli (Paton Ashbrook) who is also a scientist and a woman who used to date Ethan.

She becomes an anchor for both the audience and Ethan. A sort of “straight man” keeping it all realistic despite being very much a work of science fiction. Fortunately, Paton Ashbrook is an actor that manages to carry off this job rather perfectly which makes the entire story come together.

We do go around in circles for a bit which goes on for just five minutes longer than I would’ve liked. However, this is still such a small issue when looking at the full picture. Overall, I never became bored or tired with the plot, but it does require your full attention, so don’t attempt to “half-watch” this one. Not if you expect to actually understand it!

Watch Minor Premise in select theaters or On-Demand

Minor Premise was directed by Eric Schultz who also co-wrote the screenplay. This is a feature film debut for Eric Schultz who released his first short film earlier this year. That particular short film was called Premise and is the basis for his feature film debut. Complete with the same leading actor.

The screenplay was written by Justin Moretto and Thomas Torrey (along with Eric Schultz). This was also the team behind the short film. While I had not watched the short film prior to watching this feature, you could check it out without being spoiled. It’s more of a teaser for this feature film, so it’s safe to watch – you can check it out by clicking right here.

If the short film looks intriguing to you, then you should definitely enjoy this feature film. 

Minor Premise is out in select theaters, virtual cinemas, and Digital & On Demand on December 4, 2020.

Details

Director: Eric Schultz
Writers: Justin Moretto, Eric Schultz, Thomas Torrey
Stars: Sathya Sridharan, Paton Ashbrook, Dana Ashbrook, Nikolas Kontomanolis