Self Reliance Review: Jake Johnson’s directorial debut has an interesting premise, but spoils it with a lackluster execution – SXSW

Written, produced, directed and starring Jake Johnson. self preservation follows Tommy (Jake Johnson), a man who achieves nothing in life except to exist, and attempts to brighten his life lead to several near-death encounters. Johnson stars Anna Kendrick, Natalie Morales and Emily Hampshire.

Tommy is a lonely man running through life, afraid to face his mistakes and hiding behind his mother (with whom he lives). One day while walking home from work, he meets Andy Samberg, who takes the wayward man in his limousine for a ride to a mysterious location. The actor tells Tommy that he was chosen to participate in something, but Samberg can’t remember any further details. Arriving at the destination (an old abandoned warehouse of sorts), Tommy goes through a red door to a desk where two men are waiting to explain what he’s up to.

What he discovers is that it’s a survival reality show only hosted on the Dark Web where Tommy is hunted for 30 days. If he can survive, he will be rewarded with $1 million. They will watch his every move and kill him instantly if he is ever alone. The stories of how he got this opportunity are so unbelievable that his family, especially his sister Mary (Hampshire), do not believe him. They think he’s making things up because Tommy has nothing else to live for. With no one by his side and constantly looking over his shoulder for possible danger, he aims to survive while becoming a changed person.

The film moves through Tommy’s ordeal day by day. As the hours pass, he gets closer to death, but it really makes him start to live. self preservation is a fitting title as he becomes extroverted, makes new friends and finally breaks his boring routine. He thinks for himself and lives alone away from his family to determine how he wants his life to be. There are other ways to combat a lonely life than joining a life and death TV show, but you figure out how to fit in. The problem this character can’t shake is that he doesn’t live in the moment and in the relationships he has, which is why he was dumped by his girlfriend Theresa (Morales). He is a man just coming of age – for whom no one wants to wait.

There is so much potential in Johnson’s script, but the third act is all over the place. It forces the audience to decipher if everything we’ve seen is real. Throughout the film the tone shifts between comedy and suspense, with some horror elements, but begins to resemble David Fincher’s 1997 film. The game, and stop being funny at all. The music also follows the same unfocused path, which often left me shaking my head in confusion. There are some doo-wop numbers mixed in with a raucous horror score that sometimes drowns out the comedic moments.

self preservation is never boring but the story is not that well structured as the third act is a creepy mess. The other problem is that Tommy doesn’t end up going through a full 180 degree transformation, so he still becomes a jerk, just with more money. What did the public go through all this for? There’s a great story in there somewhere, but overall a disappointing viewing experience.