The Shift
Stars: Kristoffer Polaha, Neal McDonough, Elizabeth Tabish, Sean Astin, Emily Rose and Jordan Walker Ross
Director/Scriptwriter: Brock Heasley
Cinematography: Edd Lukas
Nook Land Entertainment/Angel Studios
Rating: PG 13 for violence
Running Length: one hour 55 minutes
Film audiences are sure to recognize the name of one of the main characters in “The Shift.” It is Neal McDonough who had a major role in Season 2 of television’s “Yellowstone.” McDonough is one of the leads in this film by Brock Heasley, that tries to bring together religion and science fiction. Kristoffer Polaha is the other lead in “The Shift,” that of Kevin, who has quite a journey to make in the storyline. Supposedly, this story could be akin to Job of the Old Testament, but it misses the mark there. Instead, it is science fiction with a villain, time warp and reminiscence of television’s “Quantum Leap.”
Kristoffer Polaha plays Kevin, a young men who the audience follows as he meets Molly (Elizabeth Tabish), marriage and there is grievance within the family. Then, Kevin is seriously injured in a traffic accident. He is unconscious, and wakes up in a different place. What has happened here? A man comes to help, and it is McDonough, who says he can help Kevin go back to Molly. Soon, we find McDonough is “The Benefactor” and can shift people from place to place, dimension to dimension, This is not explained. Nor is, why Kevin was selected. Kevin disagrees with this idea and ends up in a world of troops and rioting. He does have two friends there, Sean Astin and John Billingsley. Can he leave this place? Will he accept what The Benefactor has to offer? About now, this reminds one of Satan and Jesus on the Mount. It is beckoning, but do you really want to go there?
As far as acting, Kristoffer Polaha is OK as Kevin, and gives the audience a man living in a maze-like world. Neal McDonough steals his scenes as The Benefactor, who can act kind and unkind in a second’s notice. Elizabeth Tabish as Molly is well done, but the rest of the cast aren’t on screen long enough for character establishment. Special effects are realistic.
The storyline, goes from one dimension to another. From the world Kevin knew, to a world of uprising and despair. Old Testament Job was being tested by God, and Job was selected because he had great wealth and then lost it. However, Kevin is not like that, so why choose him? Someone, either good or evil, is there to guide, but then in which direction? Good or evil? Interesting concept, but slow to develop.
Copyright 2023 Marie Asner
