"Biosphere" and "They Cloned Tyrone"

My entry point into a lot of different mediums was science fiction.  However, occasionally it takes some digging to find the good stuff, and often the science fiction movies that I enjoy most are the weird, little-seen, independent and straight-to-streaming films that never seem to get much attention.  I decided to pair up "Biosphere" and "They Cloned Tyrone" for a double review, because they both fall into this category, and they both run the risk of being overlooked this year.

"Biosphere" is "The Twilight Zone" via mumblecore, starring and co-written by Mark Duplass, with Mel Elyn co-writing and directing.  It takes place entirely within a biosphere dome, inhabited by the last two people on Earth - BIlly (Duplass), the former president who was probably responsible for the apocalypse, and Ray (Sterling K. Brown), his childhood friend, former advisor, and the scientist who built the biosphere.  When we first meet them, they've been stuck inside the biosphere for a while, sticking to a careful regime of exercise, chores, and video games.  Everything outside the dome appears to be lifeless, with omnipresent clouds obscuring the sun.  Inside, the delicate ecosystem is threatened when their last female fish dies. 

I was never much one for mumblecore movies, finding their rough production values, rambling narratives, and focus on difficult relationship quandaries not very conducive to being entertaining. I respect the creative impulse behind this style of filmmaking, and it's clearly given us some invaluable talents like the Duplasses, but after a few attempts I decided it wasn't for me.  Though aesthetically pretty conventional, "Biosphere" tackles many of the same themes as a typical mumblecore production - I immediately thought of Lynn Shelton's "Humpday" - with the science fiction allowing some ideas to be taken to new extremes.  At its core, "Biosphere" is about charting the changes in a relationship, brought on by environmental pressures and lack of options.  When faced with being the last two people on earth, Billy and Ray find themselves changing drastically in order to survive - not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.  The scripting is messy, and feels unfinished, cutting off at what's essentially a cliffhanger.  However, the performances are good, deftly avoiding the campier possibilities while presenting an honest, often uncomfortable look at sex and gender dynamics.          

I admit that it took me an embarrassingly long time after I'd finished watching "Biosphere" to realize that the relationship that I'd been treating as totally theoretical, because it came about through events that don't typically occur in nature, wasn't actually theoretical at all.  There's a big, honking, obvious social allegory right in the middle of the movie that I'd completely missed, because I was so used to certain tropes and gender dynamics in science-fiction stories.  I take this as a sign that the movie worked as it was intended.  Despite the shoestring budget and the script issues, I bought into the emotional reality of the characters, and can't help hoping that somewhere, out there, in whatever insane, contrived existence they may inhabit, that those two can come out okay.

 

Now, on to "They Cloned Tyrone," which is "The Twilight Zone" by way of blaxploitation.  This movie is not made for me.  I had to turn on the subtitling to catch a lot of the dialogue, and even then I found certain exchanges impenetrable.  I was, however, very entertained from the outset.  Fontaine (John Boyega), is a drug dealer who lives in a run-down, crime-riddled, predominantly African-American neighborhood called the Glen.  Along with the local pimp Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), and one of his hos, Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris), Fontaine discovers that the Glen is built on top of an underground laboratory full of scientists, who are running sinister experiments and tests on the inhabitants above.  As you might guess from the title, Fontaine and several of his neighbors turn out to be clones.  

The movie is set in a retro fantasy vision of a '70s blaxploitation world, with production design and costuming to match, so I was expecting "They Cloned Tyrone" to be more pulpy and violent.  We do get to the big showdown and fight scenes eventually, but director Juel Taylor, who also co-wrote the film with Tony Rettenmaier, is more interested in the satire.  The banter in this film is the best thing about it, full of great lines and clever turns of phrase that the A-list cast has a field day with.  The performances are a ton of fun, leaning into the comedic stereotypes of the genre, and then happily subverting them.  Jamie Foxx as the fast-talking Slick is hysterical, and pairs nicely with Teyonah Parris as Yo-Yo the badass ho.  As for John Boyega, he's the heart of the movie.  "Tyrone" wouldn't work half as well without Boyega giving some real soul to Fontaine's hero journey.  Also keep an eye out for Kiefer Sutherland and David Alan Grier in smaller roles.

There have been several similar pieces of media this year like  "I'm a Virgo" and "The Blackening," that have used genre conventions and absurdity to poke fun at black culture.  "They Cloned Tyrone" is happy to throw around references to "A Clockwork Orange," and "The Hollow Man," alongside its references to "Superfly" and "Foxy Brown."  And with "Tyrone," we get full on genre-mashing, such as a sequence where we learn how the vast government conspiracy is keeping black folks down through fried chicken, hair products, and the church.  Shortly after, an insurgency is secretly organized through, er,  X-rated activities.  This is a blaxploitation film, remember, and the sex and vulgarity are abundant.  I don't think I got as much out of this as someone more well versed in black culture would, but I had a great time.  It's good to see the revolutionary spirit is still alive and well.  

  

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