Neverlost (2010)

After losing his Kate, his high school sweetheart, in a horrific house fire Josh Higgins' life tumbles into a depressing mix of insomnia and poor choices. After taking seemingly harmless ... See full summary »

Director:

Chad Archibald

Writer:

Chad Archibald

Stars:

Ry Barrett, Emily Alatalo, Jennifer Polansky

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ry Barrett	...	Josh Higgins (as Ryan Barrett)
Emily Alatalo	...	Kate
Jennifer Polansky	...	Megan Mills
Samuel Borstein	...	Kate's Father (as Sam Borstein)
Gary Fischer	...	Dr. Irwin
Patricia Ball	...	Abigail Higgins
Peter Higginson	...	Frank Higgins
Paige Albrecht	...	Pharmacist
Danny Bruzzi	...	Serino
Alison Campbell	...	The Nurse
Bryan Crockett	...	The Hospital Cop
Alexena Whiting	...	Girl in grocery store
Wilhelmina Maxwell	...	Willie
Ali Rothwell	...	Prison Shrink
Scott Sherar	...	Man in park

Storyline

After losing his Kate, his high school sweetheart, in a horrific house fire Josh Higgins' life tumbles into a depressing mix of insomnia and poor choices. After taking seemingly harmless sleeping pill, Josh is thrusted from his current banal existence to one that he had lost years earlier. As the walls of his own psychosis slowly start to close in around him, Josh must race to save himself, Kate and the parallel life that he vows can never again become...lost.

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Taglines:

The best dreams never die

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Genres:

Fantasy | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 June 2011 (Canada)

Filming Locations:

Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 125,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Black Fawn Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Neverlost should not get lost in the crowd

I saw Neverlost at its second showing at the Montreal Fantasia festival in July 2010. It was a work in progress with mostly sound issues needing to be worked out. I won't dock points because of that although it was a bit distracting. Neverlost starts rather humorously with the main character talking directly to the camera while in bed with a snoring woman. I'm not very fond of this type of narration but it worked OK and gave us an idea of his current mindset. Actually, it's the type of film that starts somewhat funny but gets more dramatic and darker as it goes along. It's about a man living a pretty miserable life in a run-down apartment with a despicable and egotistical wife. On top of that he has severe insomnia problems. The little he manages to sleep, he starts dreaming about another life with a sweet kind-hearted blonde woman, a love that he wishes he had never lost.

I found the script rather engrossing with very interesting mysterious and romantic elements. I was never lost in the plot and figuring things out as they unfolded was part of my enjoyment. I quite loved the aspect of the "dream reality" being way more appealing than "normal reality". Shades of Brazil there although one should not expect much special effects (very good blur effects to show transitions between mental states though) and amazing dream worlds (it's mostly in a normal yet luminous bedroom and kitchen). Requiem for a Dream and David Lynch films seemed to be influences also. I also liked the fact that the nature of the lives turned more and more ambiguous as time passed making us question what is what. The main actor was fine although I had my doubts at first because of his expressionless staring. The brunette wife was very good in making us dislike her although a little more depth in her personality would have been appreciated (as in not always bad). The idealized blonde woman was OK but somewhat a notch below the others in terms of acting and presence. I was impressed with the quality of the soundtrack, mostly original instrumental that set the moods rather well. Overall, Neverlost goes beyond its low budget to provide an intriguing, clever and sometimes touching supernatural romantic drama. Well worth watching.

Rating : 7.5 out of 10 (very good)