“Gazer” follows Frankie, a young mother with dyschronometria who struggles to perceive time. She takes a risky job from a mysterious woman to support her family, unaware of the dark consequences that await.

From Slow Burn to Spiral

“Gazer” is a tale of two halves. The runtime is heavily felt throughout the first half. The film plants many seeds over the first hour, doing a deep analysis of Frankie’s behaviors. While this can be tedious, a lot of it is ultimately necessary. The second half of the flick builds off of this in big ways, exploring twisted scenarios that constantly keep you guessing.

At 114 minutes long, “Gazer” is stuffed to the brim with ideas. Many of them land. Many don’t.

A Grainy Descent

Shot on 16mm film, “Gazer” has a unique style. This look grounds it inside the neo-noir thriller genre with an old-school feel. This stylistic choice is specifically perfect for “Gazer,” as it aligns with Frankie’s journey. Suffering from a condition that is warping the world around her, Frankie’s vision is unclear. By having a grainy texture with slight imperfections, it almost feels like the audience is seeing the world from her perspective.

Alongside “Gazer”‘s visuals is its successful sound design. In another effort to put the audience in Frankie’s shoes, the film has white noise quietly echoing in the background for long durations of the runtime. This is disorientating at times and adds another layer of suspense on top of the traditional score.

Anchored by Uncertainty

Ariella Mastroianni carries the film as Frankie. Many movies attempt to generate uncertainty through an unreliable narrator. Most still end up predictable, however. That is not the case for “Gazer,” in large part, due to Mastroianni’s performance.

From her dialogue and mannerisms alone, she brings the character to life. Mastroianni also narrates many moments of her character’s past through casette tapes. Her delivery mixed with a smart script makes Frankie a true mystery from the very opening shot until the last.

With all of the twists and turns, “Gazer” is effective at seamlessly integrating fact and fiction into one. The entire second half of the film is a blur, with each reveal building off the last.

“Gazer” succeeds more in its visuals than the story as a whole. The slow-burn strategy makes for a taxing first hour, but the film eventually goes in a number of exciting directions. With a constant flurry of reveals and twists, “Gazer” is a true journey of paranoia. There is no telling what is real; down to the final frame. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5