The Mimic (2020)

The Mimic: Directed by Thomas F. Mazziotti. With Jake Robinson, Olaf, Jessica Walter, Tammy Blanchard. A man suspects his friend may be a sociopath and goes to extreme lengths to uncover the truth about him and his wife, who he eventually begins to fancy.

“Greetings again from the darkness. It has been said that u0026quot;imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.u0026quot; Writer-director Thomas F Mazziotti has not only based this story on his own real life experience, but with it proves that imitation can also be the sign of a psychopath. In fact, as the film begins, we are informed that 1 in 25 people are psychopaths, and also playing a role here is u0026quot;The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Usu0026quot;, a 2005 book written by Martha Stout.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is an unusual film with an offbeat rhythm. It reminds me a bit of CREEP, the 2014 movie starring Mark Duplass, in that the characters all seem like someone we could know, yet thereu0026#39;s something a bit off. Thomas Sadoski (u0026quot;The Newsroomu0026quot;) is Tony, a lead character, narrator, and a widower. Tony has not adjusted to life without his wife, and part of the reason could be how his friends and neighbors are always bringing it up. Once the u0026quot;Kidu0026quot; shows up, Tony is taken on a ride that has him questioning not just other people, but reality.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Kidu0026quot; is actually Peter (Jake Robinson), a 31 year old, red pants wearing newcomer to town. He seems to fit right in with the elderly local newspaper ladies as they bicker about semi-colons, but his real attraction is to Tony – proclaiming u0026quot;weu0026#39;re on the same wavelengthu0026quot; after a few u0026#39;coincidentalu0026#39; meet-ups. Itu0026#39;s tempting to label this as a battle of nitwits, but neither of the men lack intelligence. They are both just awkward, and that includes Tony, our trusted narrator.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film is basically a puzzle with numerous separate pieces loosely packaged as a series of vignettes that may or may not tie together. The segments certainly provide a showcase for a plethora of recognizable actors. The list includes: Austin Pendleton, Gina Gershon, Jessica Walter, Didi Conn, Marilu Henner, Tammy Blanchard, Matthew Maher, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Josh Pais, and Steve Routman. One segment I found particularly entertaining featured Doug Plaut and the legendary M Emmet Walsh as a writer and director discussing a project.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor the most part, it just seems the film, the writers, and the characters are all trying so desperately to be witty, clever, or funny, that whether it works as a cohesive project gets kind of pushed aside. The background circus music fits well and complements the theatrical pacing and cadence. Mazziottiu0026#39;s film is certainly not cinema-as-usual, and it will likely find a cult following … perhaps among those bonding u0026quot;on a personal pronoun basis.u0026quot;”