Fast Color

“Hunted by mysterious forces, a young woman (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) with supernatural abilities must go on the run when her powers are discovered. With nowhere else to go, she flees back to her family and the farmhouse she abandoned long ago. There, while being pursued by the local sheriff (David Strathaim), she begins to mend the broken relationships with her mother (Lorraine Toussaint) and daughter (Saniyya Sidney), and unearths the depths of the power within her.”

Fast Color touts itself as a female superhero film, but under the surface is so much deeper than anything you can imagine, being one of the most beautiful and moving films I’ve seen this year. Set in an undetermined future where the Earth is dying, the character’s struggle to survive the hardships of a world where water is scarce only scratches the surface of what’s in store for viewers taking this journey.

Though the ‘superhero’ archetype for this film may attract many people alone, what the film does best as use it as an allegory to tell a much deeper story: that of love and motherhood. The powers that Ruth, Bo and Lila have are unique and extraordinary, unlike anything I’ve seen before, but despite all that, their greatest power is creation of life, of being a mother, passing down these abilities to all the women in their family for generations. With superhero films being a dime a dozen these days, seeing a story about women who hold extraordinary powers is a fresh change, as it doesn’t follow the typical fighting and explosions. Although the theme of the film focuses heavily on motherhood and creation, as a male with no children, it was one of the most moving films I’ve seen in a long time, a poignant message for everyone, no matter who you are.

The barren setting of the film the perfect contrast for a story about creation. Set in an indeterminant future, unknown location, you quickly discover that none of that matters. The desolation of everything and hopelessness of the world the story takes place in works extremely well, making the women’s power have that much more meaning, as well as being able to see the brilliant colors that follow. In a sense, the dying world needs care and love, a direct correlation between Ruth’s relationship with her daughter.

As strong as these themes are and as much as I thoroughly enjoyed exploring them in this film, they seem to take center stage, unfortunately not allowing for much development of the story or secondary characters. David Strathairn doesn’t have much to do in this film, and although I completely understand the intent of the filmmaker to tell an empowering story about women, his role in the story could have been so much more, adding a greater depth to Ruth’s relationship and learning more about her past. It’s clear that we aren’t supposed to know much about this world or the characters in it, and on some levels I enjoy that aspect of the film, but it also can lead to moments of pacing issues, as we spend about 95% of the film with Ruth we don’t get a break for much of a B-story. This also leads to issues with the antagonist, the government agents who we know barely anything about, their reasonings for wanting to capture Ruth and what lengths they will go to. There is a lack of conflict in the film when it comes to the antagonist, and when the final confrontation finally comes, we really aren’t invested in what the antagonist represents at all.

Video

Fast Color is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1. The transfer looks exceptional, with a very interesting look. Colors are very muted throughout the film, a metaphor for the dying world void of water. This is used very effectively to convey that sense of hopelessness and bareness, and when Ruth finally sees the colors after using her abilities it makes for one of the most spectacular moments of the film.

Audio

The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. This track is flawless, and although you aren’t going to be blown away by atmospheric effects or a lot of action-related sound, it does its job. My absolute favorite thing about this film is undoubtedly the score. It’s just as beautiful as the film is, complementing it perfectly with an orchestral sound.

Special Features

Not many extras on the disc, but the featurette is very informative and definitely worth a watch.

• Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Julia Hart and Writer-Producer Jordon Horowitz
• A Mother’s Power – Making Fast Color

Despite a few shortcomings, Fast Color was a pleasant surprise and a beautiful film that will surely hold different meanings for everyone who sees it.