‘Cosmic Dawn’ Review
Stars: Camille Rowe, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Antonia Zegers, Joshua Burge, Phil Granger | Written and Directed by Jefferson Moneo
After witnessing an alien abduction as a child (and subsequently being told she’s crazy for most of her life) Aurora, now a young woman, joins the UFO cult The Cosmic Dawn after discovering a book written by the group’s leader, Elyse. Aurora’s time at the cult’s remote island compound is marked by miraculous revelations, consciousness-expanding flowers, and a burgeoning friendship with Tom, the resident cook. When a fellow cult member starts to display increasingly bizarre behaviour, Aurora begins to question Elyse’s sanity (and her own) and starts looking for a way out.
Years later, after the dissolution of the cult, Aurora has moved on with her life. She leads a quiet and seemingly normal life. But when Elyse resurfaces in a mysterious video, Aurora is forced to confront her past. Together with Tom, she pursues the ultimate truth about The Cosmic Dawn. Does Elyse really have access to another dimension? Or do her prophesies truly point to mass suicide amongst the surviving cult members?
On paper, Cosmic Dawn sounded very intriguing. Music by MGMT, starring Canadian actress Emmanuelle Chriqui, who I loved in both Entourage and Adam Sandler’s You Don’t Mess With the Zohan. Plus we get the promise of a trippy sci-fi story that wants you to question everything. So why the hell does Cosmic Dawn not work?
Mainly because of the latter. The trippy story is too trippy… this is a real case of style over substance, with writer and director Jefferson Moneo telling his story in a non-linear fashion, jumping back and forth throughout our heroine Aurora’s life. She’s searching for clues to the puzzle of her life but we don’t really need to see that brought to life as a puzzle itself. Asking more questions than giving us answers and the answers we do get can’t be believed – people speak softly in riddles or with ulterior motives. Leaving audiences questioning if anything in this film is “real”, and if nothing in this film is as it seems what’s the point in investing time and effort to watch it?
On the plus side, Cosmic Dawn has an ethereal tone but that’s all it has. Well, that and MGMT’s soundtrack, which adds to the otherworldly feel of Moneo’s film. But mood and atmosphere do not a movie make… I’ve seen people say that Camille Rowe’s performance as Aurora is central to this film but I found it to all come across as somewhat false. Though not as false, and forced as some of this film’s drama.
Dull, uninspiring, yet visually interesting, Cosmic Dawn is probably best enjoyed whilst stoned. At least then you get to enjoy the trippy visuals more! The film is out now from Cranked Up Films.
