‘Ultrasound’ review: Vincent Kartheiser falls down a rabbit hole

In the opening sequence of the psychodrama “Ultrasound,” a sad sack named Glen (Vincent Kartheiser) has automobile difficulty and seeks refuge in the house of a welcoming pair: the goofy schlub Arthur (Bob Stephenson) and his a lot young wife, Cyndi (Chelsea Lopez). Just after some drinks and chit-chat, Arthur makes Glen a generous present, saying his visitor should sleep in the master bedroom … with Cyndi.

Most of the rest of the film revolves all over what really took place in the bed room that evening. Not long soon after the opening, we see Glen and Cyndi in a mysterious research facility, some months afterwards — with him now paralyzed in a wheelchair and her greatly expecting — as a team of scientists probes their fuzzy reminiscences and reads them transcripts of previous discussions. It is all quite spooky.

The film is based mostly on cartoonist Conor Stechschulte’s graphic novel “Generous Bosom” (a title eventually fewer apt than “Ultrasound,” although absolutely additional unforgettable). Rob Schroeder directs Stechschulte’s personal screenplay and ends up with a little something a little like a single of Charlie Kaufman’s or David Lynch’s cinematic brain games, but played straighter.

The movie follows 3 most important storylines, not fully in parallel. As Glen and Cyndi are staying questioned by an more and more baffled and cautious researcher named Shannon (Breeda Wool), the motion picture flashes back to the aftermath of the pair’s to start with meeting, displaying how their lives continue to keep intertwining. Meanwhile, in a tangentially related subplot, a different expecting youthful girl, Katie (Rainey Qualley), is getting concealed from the press by her married politician lover, Alex (Christopher Gartin), with the aid of Arthur — who, it turns out, is not who he seemed to be.

Schroeder and Stechschulte do not leave the viewers hanging with “Ultrasound.” By the closing credits, we do understand why the figures appear so out of sync with their have reality. Without the need of supplying too a great deal away, the movie’s title does issue, referring to a frequency that can be weaponized to manipulate people’s minds. (Zak Engel’s synth-large rating operates properly with Bobb Barito’s disorienting sound design and style to replicate the outcome.)

The film’s in general tone is a bit dry, and the narrative lacks tension, aside from its central thriller. But the performances are solid, and the factors the filmmakers are creating about the slipperiness of memory do resonate. “Ultrasound” is a motion picture made for the age of “fake news” and media bubbles, exactly where no truths are ever self-evident and what men and women understand about the globe keeps switching, depending on their filters.