Volition Movie Review

What would you do if you could see visions of the near future? Bet on the boxing? Create a winning Fantasy football team? Make money as a fortune teller?

Lone wolf grifter James (Adrian Glynn McMorran) uses his clairvoyance affliction to aid organized crimes that he can see will go smoothly. But when an illegal diamond handover goes wrong and he accidentally involves a girl (Magda Apanowicz) he's just met, James is forced to play with morality to try to change their seemingly dire fate.

A Timecrimes meets True Romance meets Looper sci-fi thriller, Volition delivers a tight and suspenseful plot that pitches the ‘a life by design’ concept against, as represented by its title, the challenging idea that one has the power and will to create their own course. James has seen his imminent death over and over, but while he is hunted down by mobsters (John Cassini, Frank Cassini and Aleks Paunovic) in the lead up to the fatal confrontation, can he find a way to domineer his own destiny?

A mind-meddling fusion of flashbacks, flash-forwards and multiple time zones, it's inherently messy – but it’s well organised and cleverly considered mess. And while there are examples in the genre of more sophisticated and complex executions of alternate timeframe narratives – the aforementioned Timecrimes, The Infinite Man, Primer… – Volition pulls off the ambitious looper narrative feat with a keen perception and commitment without trying to bite off more than it can chew, promising twists and turns and reveal after reveal until its climactic end.

Winner of the best feature award at The Philip K. Dick Film Festival, where it fittingly made its world premiere earlier this year, director Tony Dean Smith’s Canadian indie gem (written by him and his brother, Ryan W. Smith) thrives not only on an enthralling, fast-paced narrative but also on the chemistry of its two stars, McMorran and Apanowicz, who you’re compelled to root for from the get-go. A no lesser contribution from Bill Marchant as James’ foster father completes the all-Canadian cast.

With an attention-grabbing plot and all-round performances in the bag, Volition is a surefire 90 minutes of thrilling indie entertainment.