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Through the years, films have offered up all kinds of different perspectives on the end of the world—and on the ways in which humanity could survive. But the post-apocalyptic dramedy Biosphere offers a completely unexpected take on humanity’s hope of adapting and surviving after the world as we know it ceases to exist.
Biosphere moves into a small protective dome with lifelong best friends Billy (Mark Duplass) and Ray (Sterling K. Brown), who also appear to be the last two men on Earth. Following the disaster that destroyed the rest of the world, former President Billy and scientist Ray have spent years living together, enjoying their daily routines and long discussions about Super Mario Bros. But their survival inside the dome comes into question when another one of their life-giving fish dies, leaving these two survivors trying to figure out how to adapt and endure.
As Billy and Ray live out their days in the dome, they never really run out of things to talk (or argue) about. After all, after decades of friendship, these two characters have so much history—so many shared memories and inside jokes and more than a few sore spots, too. Whether they’re cooking their meals together or going for their daily run together, they’re discussing their theories on video games or rehashing something that happened in college. Their conversations are often pointless—and since most of what we learn about their history together is told through snippets and brief references, we never really know the whole story—but the actors have the kind of chemistry that will pull viewers in nonetheless.
But, of course, the film isn’t just about two guys talking about Mario and Luigi while running around a dome for a couple of hours. And as they begin to question their chances of survival, the story takes an entirely unexpected twist. What plays out is equal parts comical and thoughtful and totally awkward. It’s clever and strange and unlike anything we’ve seen before. Eventually, though, the cleverness of it all starts to fade, and it gets a little too caught up in its own awkwardness. But these two likable stars still manage to keep it from crumbling in the end.
Part buddy comedy, part post-apocalyptic drama, Biosphere is humorous and hopeful and intimate and bizarre. Though it doesn’t work perfectly in the end, it’s certainly surprising—unlike any other end-of-the-world film out there.
Move in with these lovable buddies when Biosphere arrives in select theaters on July 7, 2023.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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