I am definitely not the market for "stoner" films. I rarely take anything stronger than ibuprofen for my arthritic back (from a slip and fall injury). At first, I was going to lose patience with this story, given that it was driven by a drug-fueled narrative. I'm glad that I didn't.
As mentioned, this story bears a bit of resemblance to "The Butterfly Effect," in that it explores several possible realities for the main character, based on his choices. There seem to be several seminal moments in his life, the turning points at which the choices will drive him to poverty, drug use, paranoia, or success. Sometimes, these story lines seem to merge: in one, Fred seems successful, but in reality, he has failed at achieving his dreams and is falling deeper into despair. The viewer never knows which of these stories is the "real" story and which ones are the deviations from the mean. Then again, neither does Fred.
As another viewer mentioned, the reality of "Cindy" was never ascertained. Was she just a bad drug memory? Someone he met in one of his realities who bled into another? Someone who had been real, but had met an unfortunate end? Was she an angel? A demon? The viewer never knows. Ultimately, she is unimportant. Fred recognizes this. When he lets go of her, that is when he can make his own decisions and create his own reality.
Similarly, his seemingly unimportant mother is the one who has the most importance. In his earliest memories, Fred's mother snatches him away from the staircase, which is hidden through the darkness behind the open door. I was an English major, so I came to see and appreciate symbolism. When his "memory" of being snatched back from the stairs and her panicked scream is the one at the forefront, he is panicky himself and loses himself in his panic. His choices were removed from him early on, replaced by fear. It is when his mother allows him (as an infant) to make his own choice, placing him between her and that open door, saying "remember what happened last time?" that he is happy. He crawls to her, not toward the darkness and is rewarded by his mother's warmth and praise. That memory set him on a path of making good choices, not the feeling that he had no choice to succeed in his life at all.
As I said, this movie was a tough one. I actually talked myself up to a 7 from a 6 as I wrote this review because I found the ending hung together really well. I removed a star for some of the supporting acting and, at times, Fred was a bit over the top. I removed another star for some of the action being too muddled even for a psychological/philosophical thriller. I know that the horned man and the one with all the piercings and so on had meaning, but the viewer was never given enough information to make sense of them.
The final star was removed for having a mixed message about illicit drug use. In some scenes it is normalized. In others, it is made interesting and attractive. In other scenes, it is made ugly and undesirable. I would have liked to see a more central concept in terms of the drugs, although, because he has success after he rejects Cindy and that lifestyle, it seems that ultimately the movie rejects it, too.
It was indeed a tough movie to watch and one in which I feel my time was well spent. It's not simply a film for someone who wants simple entertainment, it can be seen as that by someone who "just" wants a stoner film. It's not something I would ordinarily have chosen to watch and I might not choose to watch it again, but I'm glad that I watched it till the end.
