Absolute Dominion

Directed by Lexi Alexander, Absolute Dominion transpires within a post-apocalyptic landscape wherein a series of one-on-one fights will determine which religion is dominant – with the narrative focused mostly on the efforts of one such fighter (Désiré Mia’s Sagan Bruno) to emerge victorious. It’s an intriguing premise that’s employed to predominantly (and regrettably) lackluster effect by Alexander, as the filmmaker, armed with her own screenplay, delivers a sluggish and hopelessly rough-around-the-edges endeavor that becomes less and less interesting (and more and more interminable) as it progresses – with the arms-length atmosphere compounded by Egor Povolotskiy’s flat visuals and an almost uniformly amateurish series of performances. (Mia’s charisma-free work as the one-note central character effectively prevents the viewer from building up a rooting interest in Sagan’s success, while Alok Vaid-Menon, cast as a media personality named Ceylon, offers up a grating, nails-on-a-chalkboard turn that remains a consistent annoyance within the proceedings.) The picture’s total lack of forward momentum, coupled with its meandering, repetitive structure (ie it’s just tedious fight after tedious fight), paves the way for an uninvolving, underwhelming midsection and second half devoid of compelling stretches, which does, in the end, confirm Absolute Dominion‘s place as a lamentable failure that squanders what’s admittedly a novel, eye-opening setup.

* out of ****