Biosphere

Directed by Mel Eslyn

★★★★

BIOSPHERE

Season: 1

Description: BIOSPHERE Still 3

Characters/Actors: Sterling K. Brown as “Ray” and Mark Duplass as “Billy” in Mel Eslyn’s BIOSPHERE.

Type: Photos

Photo Credit: Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.

What would happen if there were only two people left on Earth? And what if those two people were both straight males? Mel Eslyn’s new sci-fi dramedy, Biosphere, explores this idea and delivers it in a much more mannered way than one might expect.

Biosphere is set in the not-too-distant future and follows the two aforementioned men, Ray (played by Sterling K. Brown) and Billy (played by Mark Duplass, who also receives a co-writing credit), as they navigate the complexities of being stuck in a protective biodome, while also coming to terms with what it truly means to be masculine.

From its logline alone, the film begs to rub people the wrong way by depicting the apocalypse through the eyes of two straight men. But the filmmakers know this, and what unfolds is so much more than the jejune description that looms over the film.

Sure, Eslyn’s film still considers its basic premise, but what the film actually is focussed on is the strained and somewhat nuptial relationship the two leads have. What happened to the world to get them to this place is relevant, but only in a superficial sense. It's the curiosity and self-discovery that they internalize, often unspoken, that propel the characters forward. Though, this may be extremely vague, it’s best to go into the film with as little information as possible.

From a filmmaking standpoint, Biosphere is extremely solid. No doubt a product of independent, post-Covid cinema, Eslyn’s mastery of camerawork and setting provides a claustrophobic yet beautiful vessel for the film to explore. Additionally, both Brown and Duplass are at the top of their game. Sterling K. Brown is somehow significantly praised yet underrated as a performer. He has an unmatched ability to portray the subtlest of emotions through just a single look. Duplass is the only actor that could play the role of Billy, as he is tasked with simultaneously being outlandish and silly, yet devastating and curious.

As a whole, Biosphere delves deep into unexpected places and ultimately offers up one of the best feats of bottle-cinema in recent memory. It’s a crime that this film will be horrendously underseen because Biosphere is undoubtedly one of the year's best films.