Tribeca Film Festival 2019: Only Review

Directed by Takashi Doscher and premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival this year, Only is a post-apocalyptic love story that centers around a couple’s relationship when a mysterious disease linked to falling ash has stricken the world, killing every woman on Earth. How long can they survive before being contaminated? Can they keep dodging military inspections and hunters who want to capture every remaining woman on the planet for experimentation in an effort to jumpstart the declining worldwide birth rate?

At its core, Only is an examination of Will and Eva’s relationship under the strain of this extraterrestrial infection. Leslie Odom Jr. gives an excellent portrayal of Will, who does everything in his power to protect Eva from the disease. From spraying bleach in every room to plastic bagging their clothes to setting up a full blown decontamination zone in their apartment, Will proves how much he genuinely cares about keeping Eva alive for as long as possible. Conversely, Freida Pinto gives an equally impressive performance as Eva. Though willing and thankful at first of Will’s help, after more than a year of being hermetically sealed and under quarantine in her own home, it becomes alarmingly apparent that it has taken a toll on her, mentally. Did I mention that being under quarantine also meant no physical contact at all? Rough. Both actors do an awe-inspiring job articulating their individually fragile mindsets throughout Only, but the performances are hurt somewhat by the film’s pacing.

Though the characters are fleshed out and strong, I cannot say the same for the editing. Only is a linear story presented non-sequentially. There are numerous jump cuts between Day 1 of the epidemic and Day 400+. I frequently found myself questioning whether I was in the present or the past after a scene, and with it happening so often throughout the film, I felt as mentally fatigued as Eva by the end of it. But that’s not to say that the cuts were superfluous; they are meant to contrast Will and Eva’s relationship before and after it breaks down.

It would have helped if the contrasts were more stark—we are introduced to these characters when the relationship has already broken down, which makes it difficult to like or relate to them right off the bat. Why should I be invested in this relationship if the people in it don’t seem that interested in each other anyways? Suffice to say, there is a reason why they are the way they are in the beginning of the film, but it takes a while for that reasoning to become apparent. I won’t spoil what happens, but the payoff at the end is very much worth the slog through the first half of the movie.

Only succeeds as a relationship study under the backdrop of a light apocalyptic sci-fi story. Leslie Odom Jr. and Freida Pinto do a wonderful job portraying the highs and lows of the relationship, but, again, their performances are slightly hurt by excessive and non-sequential cuts. The conclusion is the strongest part of Only—it ties everything up nicely and I found the ending itself to be quite cathartic—you’ll just have to take a long hike through the woods to get there.

6:30 PM – SAT 4/27 – SVA THEATER 1 SILAS
6:30 PM – SUN 4/28 – REGAL CINEMAS BATTERY PARK 11-5
6:00 PM – THU 5/2 – VILLAGE EAST CINEMA-07
2:45 PM – SAT 5/4 – VILLAGE EAST CINEMA-01

★ ★ 1/2 out of 4

Photo Credit: Sean Stiegemeier