Synopsis: Ever since a near-fatal attack, Laura Green (Doig-Thorne) has suffered from a rare type of Amnesia that causes her memories to be erased every night, once she goes to sleep. Each morning she must reacquaint herself with her own life, painstakingly piecing together fragments of her jagged past from cryptic clues on her computer.
When her friends’ video call her to celebrate her birthday, reminding her of a life she cannot recall, she becomes suspicious. Are they being completely truthful? Are they even her real friends? Soon, Laura learns that her friends are not who they say they are, and the truth behind her attack harbors the key to a sinister twist to her own identity.
Review by Sharon Wilfong
Samesh Ramjattan’s feature debut “Intervention” stars rising talent Amber Doig-Thorne (The Seven), Bibi Lucille (Purgatory), and Heather Elise Nelson (Hello Au Revoir). The director says he took inspiration from Christopher Nolan’s Memento (2000). It was easy to see the similarities right away, with a protagonist whose faulty memories force her to follow clues leading her to find out who she is and what exactly happened. Like Leonard Shelby, the protagonist of “Memento,” ( And Lucy in “50 First Dates”) Laura Green suffers from a special type of amnesia. It’s a kind of short-term memory loss where the afflicted person forgets what happened throughout the day as soon as they go to sleep.
However, that’s where the similarities between Nolan’s story and Ramjattan’s end. “Intervention” takes place in isolation. The protagonist never leaves the confines of her all-white scantly decorated room. In “Momento” the clues Leonard leaves himself drive the action, sending him on an adventure. On the other hand, in “Intervention” the bits and pieces Laura leaves for herself are on her computer, comprised of digital post-it notes and video files. These clues don’t drive the action so much as leave the audience trying to decipher their meaning.
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The premise is interesting enough, and “Intervention” makes excellent use of technology, incorporating a group video chat and other scenes using the computer’s screen. The way Ramjattan incorporates the video chat reminds me of “Safer at Home” (Wernick, 2021). “Intervention” exploits technology’s immediacy and creates tension by drawing out each decision the protagonist makes. The clues, the questionable friends on video chat, and Laura Green’s unusual amnesia leave us wondering about the truth. Laura’s friends all know what’s going on, and they’re all waiting for her to remember.
Amber Doig-Thorne (Laura) does a great job of building a believable character. She creates a detached persona and one who is also fighting to regain control. I often feel like movies can pick up the pace, but psychological horror is a drawn-out feeling of entrapment anyway. So the prolonged scenes with nothing happening other than dialogue between the characters work for the most part. Still, editing could shave a few minutes off and create more impact when Laura begins to remember, and the characters finally reveal the truth.
Rating: 3.7/ 5 stars
Brava Studios is an independent UK-based film and television production company producing high concept low budget genre content. “Intervention” begins streaming on Amazon Prime, Vudu, and Apple iTunes on April 22nd, 2022.
