Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Intense drama has drug use, hallucinations, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Flashback
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In FLASHBACK Fred Fitzell (Dylan O'Brien), on first glance, appears to have his act together. He's starting a job in the lucrative field of data analytics, is moving into a nice apartment with his long-time partner Karen (Hannah Gross), and is settling into a comfortable adulthood, even if his dreams of being a successful visual artist are now on the backburner, and his mother is in the hospital suffering from aphasia and no longer recognizes him. But on a traffic-heavy commute home from work, Fred tries to take a shortcut through an alley, and sees and/or hallucinates a homeless man who triggers hazy and unpleasant memories from his past. Specifically, he begins having recollections of a girl he knew in high school named Cindy Williams (Maika Monroe), who mysteriously disappeared on the night before their final exams while Fred, Cindy, and their friends Andre and a drug dealer named Sebastian experienced disturbing hallucinations and freaked out while on a mysterious designer drug known as "Mercury." He recalls Cindy as being a free-spirited rebel, and soon becomes obsessed with figuring out what really happened to her 15 later. Fred tracks down Sebastian and Andre, and the three of them begin trying to piece together what exactly happened on the night of Cindy's disappearance, and they soon revisit the abandoned building that was the drug house where, as teens, they had their nightmarish experience on Mercury. As Fred's obsession put strains on his relationship with Karen, as well as his career, Fred begins to experience the past and present simultaneously, seeing connections between what's happening now compared to what happened as a teen, and he experiences fates much different than the life he's living now. Fred must try to comprehend all of this as he tries to come to terms with his past and what happened with Cindy.
Is It Any Good?
This is a surprisingly solid psychological thriller about, among other things, time, memory, loss, and trying to make your own way in the world on your own terms. Flashback is an intense drama in which the lead character, Fred, tries to figure out what happened to a girl he knew as a teenager, a free-spirited rebel who disappeared under mysterious circumstances after he and his friends went to a drug house and took a powerful mystery drug called "Mercury." While the movie skirts dangerously close into art school pretension, there's an earnestness behind it all that allows the viewer to have some faith that there are indeed reasons for the decisions being made in the movie, such as the third act being presented as more or less one big intense drug trip in which past and present and sometimes the future are happening simultaneously, or separated only in split-second fragments anyway. The movie doesn't glorify or condemn drug use in spite of all the trippy effects employed in conveying drug experiences; the drug use comes across more as the catalyst for the story and themes.
This could easily become a "cult classic" of the not-too-distant future, and hopefully for all the right reasons. There are messages here, and they're presented without moralizing or preaching like some ‘80s after-school special. There also seems to be a lot here that would reward repeated viewings, such as split-second shots easily missed the first time around. As this hallucinogenic third act goes on, it definitely goes in directions seen in other familiar movies, but nonetheless, Flashback does carve out its own unique space in the realm of mind-warp thrillers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about drug use as it's conveyed in Flashback. Does the movie glamorize or encourage drug use, or is it less about drug use and more about the deeper themes the movie explores?
What are the themes explored in the movie? What are some other examples of movies, books, and TV shows that explore similar themes?
Was the style of the movie, with its constant leaps in time (often in split-second shots) necessary for the story, or did it seem like a pretentious way to show the viewer what it was like for Fred when he took Mercury? Why?
Movie Details
- In theaters : October 8, 2020
- On DVD or streaming : June 4, 2021
- Cast : Dylan O'Brien , Hannah Gross , Maika Monroe
- Director : Christopher MacBride
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Lionsgate
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 97 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : Drug content, language throughout, brief sexual material and nudity.
- Last updated : July 25, 2022
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