The film follows four fragmented souls: an artist who continuously attempts suicide for her art projects, a father searching for his missing son, a heart-broken man trying to connect romantically with his imaginary friend (!) and a Rorschach-esque vigilante who lives in a sort-of steampunk alternate reality where EVERYONE by law is required to be part of an organized religion (!!!). It’s a character roster that straight up begs Sesame Street to sing “one of these kids is doing his own thing, one of these things doesn’t belong.”

And I have to admit, the first half-hour was a tough nut to get through. Presenting two realities and four seemingly unconnected characters with problems that are vastly different from the others is a bold task for any filmmaker. Luckily, I could find Eva Green teaching Japanese calculous entertaining, so I stuck it out. Luckier still, after the initial set-up, the stories became more interesting. It was a rare case where I didn’t find the more fantastical DARK CITY/Tim Burton GOTHAM world more fascinating than the everyday schlubs doing their best to deal with their own worn-out lives. The ending was a bit schmaltzy but as a whole it was alright. But a science fiction or fantasy/horror movie? No, not really. Damn you, marketing department!