Netflix Find: Shuffle

I often liken Netflix to a whirlwind romance. Sometimes you get disappointed with what you get because you’ve invested your time with it. On the other hand, there are moments when you discover something brilliant. It’s an experience filled with ups and downs.

Yesterday, I’ve stumbled upon an ‘up’ worthy film. It had a high rating on Netflix, but I’ve been let down by ratings before. I was skeptical, but then I checked out the external reviews online and it had nothing but glowing praise. I figured that I also had time to kill, so why not?

Shuffle is a film about a man who starts to experience life out of chronological sequence. One day he’s 30 years old, the next day he could be 15 year old boy. At first, it reminded me of The Time Traveller’s Wife or The Butterfly Effect. However, it turned out to be something else entirely and I’m glad I didn’t pass on the opportunity to see it.

At first, this film gives on a very B-movie vibe. I was honestly close to watching something else, but then it started to get more interesting as it goes on. As an avid science fiction film enthusiast, I was fond of spotting clues and attempting to figure out what the movie was all about. However, I felt like the movie knew exactly what I was thinking and it was using it to lead me astray.

So, it basically shows you Lovell Milo, the protagonist, falling asleep at various times. Whenever he wakes up, he is in another period of his life whether it is in the past, present, or in the future. I won’t spoil anything else. The problem is he doesn’t know which is his present. It made me wonder if this was some psychological thing or if he was time travelling. It’s easy to think that you’ve got this movie figured out. I’ve been so used to watching films that are mind bending or have complicated twists, that I failed to see the true meaning of this film. In fact, there was a clue during the beginning of the film that I shrugged off as insignificant.

Most of the time, I don’t usually cry when it comes to films like these but I did. The film boasts a heartwarming story line and the cast’s performance was instrumental in making the audience feel for the characters. I feel like if I told you guys why, it would be a great injustice to the film because you would know exactly what was coming.

The beauty about this film is that its main purpose is not to dazzle or stupefy you with a complex plot. It tells a compelling story about love, tragedy, and starting over. Sometimes filmmakers tend to rely on cheap theatrics or complex narratives to impress us. However, the simplest stories can have a large impact if it is told in a different perspective.

Once you find out what the movie is really about, you’ll realize that it bears some similarities from popular novels and movies we’ve seen before. Plot is nothing new, but execution and structure is what makes this film stand out. You won’t realize that you’ve seen this type of movie before until the very end. It’s not a disappointing feeling because it left me impressed by how it kept me guessing the entire time.

I was also expecting to have my mind churned. Some of you might be disappointed by the direction it takes later on, but if you appreciate drama then there won’t be a problem.

I highly encourage this film if you have the time. It’s available on Netflix, so that’s one way to see it. I’ve often been disappointed by indie films because of how hard some of them try to be smart or deep. Shuffle has renewed my interest in them and I’m interested to see more indie films in the future.