Communicable is a surrealistic science fiction film from writer-director David Lawler that explores the tones around tragic loss juxtaposed with the complications of relationships. The film could also be considered experimental in the sense that Lawler avoids linear narrative and conveys the gist of various scenes through a dreamlike series of conversations and voice-overs. There’s no obvious sequence to the events, and in fact, there aren’t many obvious events. Most of what an audience takes away will be whatever meaning the viewer connects to and imbues from within their own experiences and personality.
As such, recounting any narrative beats would be an exercise in futility since it’s more about tone and emotions in the moments instead of linear storytelling. We can, however, set the stage to some degree. The two main characters are young women named Louise (Lucia Roberts) and Iris (Rivers Duggan). In the wake of a drowning, Louise seems to be escaping to an alternate version of the world that includes a comforting companion in Iris. Iris is possibly her Tyler Durden, giving her emotional support and a point upon which to focus. It’s also possible that Louise has created Iris to be the better version of herself, so she can see how her life might have played out if she’d been more than she is. This is open to interpretation.
There is also at least one secondary character. Nick (Morgan Elgarten) may be Louise’s real-life boyfriend if there is meant to be a baseline “reality” here. In some scenes, the part of Louise in her dream appears to be played by Iris, as if Louise is seeing someone else in her role. The action has the fuzzy confusion of a dream partly remembered upon waking.
“…she is escaping to an alternate version of the world…”
An extraordinary soundtrack accompanies the internal and external rumination. The music is a highlight of Communicable, cementing emotions solidly into the moment more effectively than anything else. The images are made up of claustrophobic close-ups and ominous interstitial shots of a mushroom cloud, creating an anxious tension throughout. The structure is represented visually by a circuit diagram for a digital device. It is used as a map the characters trace to follow a certain path.
Roberts and Duggan deliver the main characters expertly, evoking deep empathy in their performances. Duggan, in particular, carries the film with her bright, expressive eyes. She makes Iris into someone you’d probably enjoy hanging out with.
Lawler said, “Communicable tells the story of a young woman who disappears inside the reality of a recent tragedy and then attempts to make sense of her fictional existence through the creation of another woman.“
It’s helpful not to get too invested in seeking linear meaning in the film. This is an experience to be lived and felt, not necessarily understood. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say the audience will naturally sense meaning based on gestalt driven by whatever the film touches in their own lives… or not, and that’s the risk of making a movie that reflects the audience back at themselves in such a direct way. Either way, Communicable is a trippy journey through a moment of existential pain.
