Watch Rebirth on Netflix
Written by: Karl Mueller
Directed by: Karl Mueller
Starring: Fran Kranz, Adam Goldberg, Harry Hamlin, Nicky Whelan
Rated: --/R
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| Rebirth - A movie that misses it's own point. |
In this Netflix original, Kyle's college buddy Zach invites him on a weekend retreat that is not quite what it seems.
Verdict:
Only at the very end does it really say something about the nature of cults. They trap you. Kyle didn't want to be a part of Rebirth, but they forced him into it, and he becomes a company shill. That statement is powerful, but it's just an afterthought at the end, when the attempt at a thrill ride concludes. Most of this feels like the remake of a certain Michael Douglas movie
It depends.
Review:
The introduction doesn't last long. Kyle (Fran Kranz) is stuck in the monotony of life. Every day he goes through the same routine, stuck in traffic, his office, and in life. His old friend Zach (Adam Goldberg) shows up and invites him to a weekend retreat, but won't share any details. From the start Zach seems like the college buddy who never grew up, criticizing Kyle's zombie-like existence. Kyle initially refuses, but later decides to go. It's clear from the start this is about Kyle asserting himself and gaining self confidence, breaking free from society's constrains.
The seminar is cloak and dagger, Kyle has to stumble across a few convenient clues before finding the bus that will take him to Rebirth. The sequence is odd because it's so contrived. Everyone on the bus sits stone faced looking straight ahead. Is it for a creepy effect or is it a set up? It's difficult to suspend my disbelief because everything is a little too perfectly orchestrated. Everyone knows exactly what to do except Kyle. Obviously he's the only new one or this is designed for him. This quickly begins to feel like a knock-off of the Michael Douglas thriller The Game (1997). The reveal in The Game was a big surprise, with Rebirth, I'm waiting for that moment the curtain pulls back.
The rules of Rebirth state you can leave anytime you want, no leaders, no spoilers, and no spectators. It takes you down the rabbit hole with circular conversations, a rejection of society, and people with no inhibitions.
More than once we get a conversation of Kyle asking, "Can I leave?" With someone replying, "I don't know, can you?" It's not a new concept.
Kyle is a wet noodle, we get it. He's unassertive, stammering, and disbelieving. This Rebirth will free him. Everyone is so caustic and singles him out that it borders on comedy. It's an attempt to get Kyle to fight back and stand up. He's belittled and even punched in the face before finding someone moderately normal that convinces him to stay because the movie still has time to fill. This feels so much like The Game, except the seams are easily visible. Then the movie flips the other way from Kyle getting attacked to a room of women that find him incredibly attractive. If he's not a fighter, maybe he's a lover. Nearly all of the women in the movie are treated as sex objects. It's an odd message that to be assertive you need to dominate a woman or have sex with her, but that's what this movie implies. Kyle forgoes an orgy when he hears a man screaming.
Kyle reaches his breaking point and the twist you saw coming from the beginning unfolds. I was hoping for another twist since the first has no impact. There is another twist, but that isn't all. This game isn't over. Zach returns to his house which is decorated fully in Rebirth gear. The detail and scope is simply impossible. Everything in his house has been replaced. The movie gets too complicated for it's own good with a few sub plot before it gets into the true nature of Rebirth. The most interesting question Rebirth asks is in the form of a promotional video that plays during the credits as a throwaway. It's subtle and darker than anything else we've seen. This embodies the real twist. The movie knows we'll see the twist coming and that's the point, but it throws so much at you in the end that the real twist is lost. There's a certain amount of levity in the promotional video, but the muddled ending robs it of power.
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