The dread of mortality and the quest to beat death are as old as time. Surprisingly few movies have taken on the subject outside of horror and science fiction. IMMORTALIST tackles the subject in a non-genre drama, albeit one that periodically dabbles in surrealism. Director Vladislav Kozlov, who co-wrote the film with Natalia Dar, pulls no punches in showing how far some people are willing to go in forestalling what common wisdom says is the inevitable. But is it? Can a corpse be frozen and revived in the future? Can a human be head be severed, preserved, and the mind downloaded later? IMMORTALIST asks the questions, and presents the debate in the context of a very human, intimate drama. Jeff DuJardin plays the grandson of Franco Nero, an old man dying of cancer, and against the wishes of his mother (a very nuanced, courageous performance by Sherilyn Fenn), tries to get him to consent to cryogenic preservation. DuJardin is remarkable in the movie, and he's sharing screen time not only with the iconic Nero and Sherilyn Fenn, but with veteran comedian and actor Paul Rodriguez. Nero, an international screen legend, will break your heart. Kozlov's direction is assured and capable, and the movie is exceptionally well-photographed. IMMORTALIST is a provocative, at times disturbing film. Gutsy, intelligent and uncompromising, it's an absorbing and original alternative to formulaic, four-quadrant studio tent poles. Well-worth the time.
