I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW – Review

Peter Dinklage as Del, in Reed Morano’s post-apocalypse drama I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW. Courtesy of Momentum Pictures (c)

Peter Dinklage plays a man who has made a comfortable life alone in a post-apocalyptic world where he is the only person in a small town. Until a girl named Grace (Elle Fanning) turns up, and then wants to stay. You might think Del would be pleased to have company but he’s not.

I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW takes place in a world sometime after some disaster, presumably a disease, has wiped out most people, yet director/cinematographer Reed Morano makes that world looks surprisingly serene at this point. It is a strange kind of utopia for Del, only disturbed by those encounters with dry, dusty dead bodies he discovers while cleaning houses. It is a small town, so he knows they all, and he handles them with a solemn respect but no sentimentality.

Her past credits include directing early episodes of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and cinematography on FROZEN RIVER, KILL YOUR DARLINGS and THE SKELETON TWINS. The small town Del has all to himself has an old-fashioned New England look, situated on a placid lake, although it could also be in the Midwest. Morano never says. As picaresque as it looks, everyone in Del’s small town is dead, and he’s fine with that. As far as he knows, he is the only person still alive on the whole planet. Until Grace arrives to prove him wrong.

I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW never explains what caused the catastrophe but it really doesn’t matter as far as the plot is concerned. This is not the first science fiction story built around two people left alone on the planet, but the strong acting performance by Peter Dinklage lifts this independent sci-fi/thriller/psychological drama above the flaws in its story.

Del has set up a quiet routine for himself that includes systematically checking and cleaning the empty houses in the town, salvaging any batteries or useful items, and burying the bodies he finds there. Del marks the pavement in front of each house with a white spray painted X to denote it has been cleaned, and also notes that on a map he keeps back at the library where he lives.

Del spends his days reading, occasionally fishing and systematically cleaning the houses, a task he carries out in his beat-up pickup truck, sporting a bandanna as a mask and to the tune of loud rock music. He has a whole routine he follows, checking for batteries, taking photos out of picture frames, wrapping the dead in quilts. He takes the wrapped bodies out to a neat, makeshift cemetery where he buries all the occupants of a house in a single grave with the help a backhoe. The family photos he finds, he files away in folders at the library, creating a kind of archive of the past. The batteries he uses. In the evening, he dines elegantly with wine and a fine sunset view out the large plate glass in the library’s main room.

It is clear Del enjoys living in the library surrounded by books and treating the whole town as his personal domain, using his cleaning project as a way to occupy his time. he seems content rather than lonely. It is also clear he would rather keep it that way, judging from his reaction when he finds that the young woman slumped over the steering wheel of a car is still alive. Del is a hermit but a kindly one and patches up the girl, expecting to send her on her way. Unfortunately, she would rather stay.

Grace is young, a teenager in fact, and is completely puzzled by Del’s preference for solitude. Del is wary of Grace but eventually allows her to stay – on a trial basis, as he tells her – perhaps because she has nowhere else to go. Del has to find a way to fit her into his orderly world, as they form a kind of mismatched friendship.

The film goes along this path for sometime, revealing things about Del’s past and who he is now. Dinklage displays his considerable gift for expressing his character’s inner life as the drama follows these two people struggle to find a way to coexist. Grace, however, remains more opaque, hinting at secrets.

The film seems like it is going to be a psychological exploration of human nature and there is a kind of metaphor for human life in the interactions of these two people. But the film then takes a turn into a different direction, which reveals Grace’s secret in jarring fashion. The film then seems to shift from a introspective human drama to a sci-fi story with more heavy-handed symbolism and social commentary, losing the delicate touch of the first part. After a strong beginning, the story unravels a bit after that turn, moving towards an ending that may not satisfy.

A major reason for seeing this film are the very fine acting performances, particularly by Peter Dinklage. Further, although the film is obviously low-budget, it makes to most of its locations, and features striking photography that effectively evokes a sense of emptiness and suggests a frontier spirit among the survivors. The film also has a striking score, alternating between the driving rock music Del likes to listen to and an eerie modern score that creates a powerful sci-fi thriller mood. If only the script was a strong as these three elements.

Still, I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW is worth a look for fans of contemplative sci-fi/fantasy themes, or at least the first two-thirds. The pacing is deliberate and this is not a film for audiences who demand constant action. The scale is human and small, and has rewards for those willing to proceed at its pace. The problem has to do with the turn and the ending, which takes the film into a kind of heavy-handed social commentary that does not match the film’s graceful, thoughtful beginnings. If only the story could have continued down the road it started on, it would have been a more meaningful film.

I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW is available on demand Sept. 21 and in theaters in select cities.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars