Do I Know You From Somewhere?

Directed by Arianna Martinez, Do I Know You From Somewhere? follows a couple (Caroline Bell’s Olive and Ian Ottis Goff’s Benny) as they’re caught up in an inexplicable mystery involving shifting timelines and bizarre happenings. First-time filmmaker Martinez, armed with her and Gordon Mihan’s screenplay, does a terrific job of immediately luring the viewer into the proceedings, as Do I Know You From Somewhere? boasts a striking credits sequence that leads into an engrossingly off-kilter opening stretch – with the impact of the picture’s first act heightened by the terrific work of its two central actors. (Bell is especially strong (and mesmerizing) here, to be sure.) The movie, beyond that point, segues into a sci-fi-forward narrative that generally sustains the viewer’s interest with its assortment of agreeably head-scratching attributes, although, by that same token, it’s equally clear that Martinez and Mihan’s script is occasionally just a little too oddball for its own good (ie all the jumping around admittedly does wreak a little havoc on the movie’s forward momentum). And while it’s ultimately not entirely clear exactly what happened or what it all means, Do I Know You From Somewhere?, anchored by Bell’s stirring, sympathetic turn, is well made enough and entertaining enough to confirm Martinez’s place as an up-and-comer worth watching. (And this is to say nothing of the almost note-perfect final scene.)

**1/2 out of ****