NIGHTSTREAM 2020: ’LAPSIS’ Gives Financial Dystopia A Mindbending Makeover

As boldly original a work of socially-conscience science fiction as we’re likely to see this year, Noah Hutton’s Lapsis is a stunning vision of financial dystopia that pokes at corporate injustice and tech-driven everyman ennui. Plopping a poignant deconstruction of the myth of getting ahead vis-a-vis head down labor atop a tight-constructed, well-realized sandbox, Lapsis unravels like a mystery box with something actually worthwhile at its center. Stylistically and visually similar to Charlie Brooker’s tech-driven worlds of Black Mirror, Lapsis imagines an alternative present-day where a new technology called Quantum has altered the fabric of modern society.

A groundbreaking super-processor with lightning-fast speeds, Quantum has revolutionized the financial sector. But in order to keep up with the new demands of the technology, human grunt workers need  to lay cable connecting massive blocks of square hubs sat in the midst of natural forests, often reachable only through difficult-to-navigate terrain.  Enter Ray (a perfectly cast Dean Imperial), a blue-collar delivery gig worker from Queens with a self-described “70s mobster vibe”. Caring for his younger brother Jamie (Babe Howard), who suffers a chronic fatigue disorder ominously termed “omnia”, has become increasingly costly for Ray. As Jamie’s condition worsens, Ray seeks out the quick money scheme so he can send his sibling to a pricy omnia clinic and turns to “cabling”.

Lapsis starts in earnest when Ray joins the ranks of the cablers. Having obtained a black market “medallion” (essentially an employee badge with a built-in Bitcoin-like currency and social networking features) from a sketchy businessman, Ray steps into the handle of “Lapsis Beeftech”, a notorious former cabler with an unsettlingly large stockpile of currency. His get-rich-quick plot quickly transformed into a case of mistaken identity, Ray must learn the ropes of the new career frontier of cabling and unravel the true identity of his assumed “trail name”, which cause any who cross his path to look askant upon him. 

Hutton, who wrote as well as directed, takes precise aim at the rat race of the gig economy, particularly rideshare and insta-delivery services under the Uber/Amazon umbrella. Work opportunities become labor traps, a clever ploy that ensnares workers through wicked competition and manipulative encouragement to one-up their game by purchasing the top-rated equipment (which the employer is often happy to finance) thereby putting themselves further in debt to their ostensible “employer” and forced to work longer, harder, faster. Look no further than the aforementioned businesses, who use a murky definition of employment to keep their workers from the benefits of regulated work hours, overtime, or healthcare, to see an instance of this occurring in real-time throughout our very own corporate dystopia. 

Even the technology that the cablers use features condescending corporate-speak, encouraging users to “challenge your status quo!”, pushing them to go full-tilt at all times in order to squeak out their next slice of cheddar, though the true motivation of shareholder growth overshadows all. Even the sweaty cablers’ breaks are regulated, monitored, and require approval, their medallions issuing a noxious chirp that forces the weary laborer to continue trekking until their algorithm-approved rest time bleats its blessing. 

As Ray climbs deeper into the rabbit hole of his new corporate overlords, Hutton’s us vs. them analysis of financial realities pits the social stratum against one another in what is easily the weakest element of the film. The proletariat implications are as clear and unrelenting as the cabling companies and their robotic minions; free-market greed leads inevitably to modern-day slavery, but Hutton fails to coalesce the intriguing world-building and timely potent message into any kind of fulfilling conclusion. In fact, Lapsis just kind of ends without any real resolution at all (once Lapsis ended, I confusedly rewound to see if I missed something… I hadn’t) limiting a film that could have been truly outstanding to merely being a fascinating germ of an idea executed without a satisfying coup de grâce.

CONCLUSION: Head-scratching non-ending aside, ‘Lapsis’ creates a fascinating world and fills it with intrigue and colorful, compelling characters. One of the most original, thematic sci-fi efforts of recent history (fans of Black Mirror will certainly adore Hutton’s creation), Lapsis’ slapdash conclusion may leave viewers feeling like they’ve sat through an incomplete story, even if the journey itself more than justifies a watch.

B+

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