The Anomaly (film)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Anomaly'' is a 2014 British science fiction action film co-written, co-produced and directed by
Noel Clarke Noel Anthony Clarke (born 6 December 1975) is a British actor, screenwriter, director, and comic book writer. Rising to prominence for playing Mickey Smith in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2010), he played Sam in the films ''Kidulthood'' (2006), ''Adu ...
, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars
Ian Somerhalder Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama ''Lost'', Damon Salvatore in The CW's supernatural drama ''The Vampire Diaries'', and Dr. Luther Swann in Netflix's sci ...
and Luke Hemsworth. The film was panned by critics. This is Somerhalder's final acting film before his retirement in 2024.


Plot

Ex-soldier Ryan Reeve wakes up in the back of a moving van next to a young tied-up boy, Alex, who is being held prisoner. Strangely, the boy seems to think Reeve is the kidnapper though he has no memory of ever having seen the boy before, and looking at his watch, he last remembered it being six months previously. After freeing the boy, making a run for it, and attempting to figure out what has happened to him, all he remembers is being at a facility treating his severe PTSD. As one of their pursuers catches up to them, suddenly he blacks out again and awakes in a room with a mysterious young man (same as before) named Harkin Langham, who seems to think he is someone else. When Langham discovers who he really is, he disables Reeve and knocks him out. Reeve then wakes up in a mysterious bedroom having sex with a beautiful young woman. She identifies herself as a prostitute named Dana, who seems to remember meeting and engaging in sexual activity with a much more violent and sociopathic version of Reeve. He tries to explain his predicament, but she remains skeptical. He asks her to come with him, but she says she cannot leave as she is the "property" of a Russian gangster named Sergio. Reeve offers to free her if she will help him solve the mystery that his life has become. The two manage to escape, but Reeve again loses consciousness when the mind control system reboots and again Langham catches up to him. He must work out what is happening in bursts of exactly nine minutes and forty-seven seconds, as the control and conscious awareness of his body are repeatedly being hijacked and shuffled through different scenarios by person/s unknown. He teams up with Dana as he battles a conspiracy in mind control known as "Anomaly" led by Langham. Langham, meanwhile, urges him to stop fighting it, as it has nothing to do with him, however, he is convinced otherwise.


Cast

*
Noel Clarke Noel Anthony Clarke (born 6 December 1975) is a British actor, screenwriter, director, and comic book writer. Rising to prominence for playing Mickey Smith in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2010), he played Sam in the films ''Kidulthood'' (2006), ''Adu ...
as Pvt. Ryan Reeve/Anomaly #66 * Alexis Knapp as Dana * Brian Cox as Dr. Francis Langham *
Ian Somerhalder Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama ''Lost'', Damon Salvatore in The CW's supernatural drama ''The Vampire Diaries'', and Dr. Luther Swann in Netflix's sci ...
as Agent Harkin Langham/Anomaly #X *Rachael Jowett as Margaret * Luke Hemsworth as Agent Richard Elkin/Anomaly #13 * Ali Cook as Agent Travis/Anomaly #97 * Art Parkinson as Alex * John Schwab as Harrison Samuel * Michael Bisping as Sergio


Production

The film was produced in the United Kingdom in 2013. Clarke performed his own stunts, modifying his diet and receiving fight training for the purpose.


Distribution

The first official trailer was released on 19 April 2014. The film was shown at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2014Neil Young
"'The Anomaly': Edinburgh Review"
'' The Hollywood Reporter'', 18 June 2014.
and entered general release in the UK and the Republic of Ireland through Universal Pictures on 4 July."'The Anomaly': Noel Clarke fights time in sci-fi puzzle"
cinema,
Euronews Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective. The majority of Eurone ...
, 7 July 2014.


Reception

The film was unanimously panned by critics, with a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 0% based on 17 reviews, making it the worst reviewed British film of 2014. On Metacritic, it has a score of 27 out of 100 from 7 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
Mark Kermode Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine ''Sight & Sound'', prese ...
of '' The Observer'' called it "ambitious but uneven". Other critics described it as "hilariously naff science-fiction mularkey" and "a peculiar Brit flick best described as a noble failure"David Edwards
"The Anomaly review: Noel Clarke delivers a peculiar film best described as a noble failure"
'' The Mirror'', 4 July 2014.
and referred to "tangled conception and tortuously opaque execution"Guy Lodge
"Film Review: 'The Anomaly': Derivative and incomprehensible, Noel Clarke's shoestring sci-fi actioner doesn't live up to its title"
'' Variety'', 17 June 2014.
and to "meag erewards for those willing to endure its laborious convolutions".


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anomaly, The 2014 films 2014 action thriller films 2014 science fiction action films 2010s British films 2010s chase films 2010s English-language films 2010s mystery thriller films 2010s science fiction thriller films British action thriller films British chase films British mystery thriller films British science fiction action films British science fiction thriller films Films about security and surveillance Films directed by Noel Clarke Films set in the future Techno-thriller films Universal Pictures films English-language science fiction action films English-language science fiction thriller films English-language action thriller films English-language mystery thriller films