The 2019 science fiction film “Synchronic” was created by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. They are the same talented individuals behind previous fantastic films like “Spring,” “Resolution,” and “The Endless.”
In “Synchronic,” the plot revolves around a substance by the name of Synchronic that is responsible for many tragic deaths around the nation. Two paramedic-related primary characters are followed in the film. As they look into this drug, they discover that it genuinely causes people to travel through time and space, not merely causing them to perceive things that aren’t there.
It’s crucial to understand that this film isn’t a fast-paced thriller. Expect things to progress slowly because it takes its time to develop. Additionally, some individuals find the movie’s plot a little difficult to follow because it doesn’t unfold in a linear fashion. If that’s the case, you can learn more about it by reading a narrative analysis and an explanation of the ending.
Does Synchronic take place in the same universe as The Endless and Resolution?
Justin Benson, the filmmaker of the audio clip you referred to, provides a comprehensive explanation at around 4:20. The Synchronic medication was created using a rare red flower discovered in a remote area of the California desert. The background of the films “Resolution” and “The Endless” features this flower, which gives the drug its time-traveling properties. It’s crucial to keep in mind, though, that “Resolution” and “The Endless’s” narratives and characters aren’t necessarily connected to “Synchronic” in any way. Therefore, you are not required to be familiar with the other stories in order to enjoy each of these films.
Synchronic| What is it? What exactly does the pineal gland do?
The drug Synchronic, which is made up for the film, tampers with how people perceive time. The film makes the claim that our brains, in particular our pineal glands, may be able to perceive time in an odd, non-linear manner. Time usually just passes by with one occurrence following another, right? However, Synchronic modifies your pineal gland and enables time travel.
As people age, their pineal glands become completely calcified and become rigid, which limits their ability to look into the past to dreamlike visions. However, younger individuals now have the ability to physically travel through time owing to Synchronic.
Now, if you work in medical, you might be saying, “Hold on a sec, that’s not how it works!” You’d be accurate, too! Here, the directors are merely using their creative imagination for amusement. Similar to saying Superman can fly, this claim isn’t precisely supported by science, but it sure makes for a good narrative!
Why does Synchronic result in fatalities?
You’ve got it, without a doubt! In layman’s terms, Synchronic is a substance that causes time travel. Unfortunately, some time travellers get into dangerous situations and don’t survive because of the unpredictable nature of time travel. Here are a few illustrations from the movie:
There is a woman who goes back in time while staying in a hotel room and is bitten by a snake. The time travel and the snake’s venom cause her to enter a coma.
Another individual uses Synchronic in a lift. It transports him back to a period when the area beyond the lift doors consisted just of a steep drop. He ends up dying after falling from a high floor, and his body is found at the bottom of the lift shaft.
Therefore, Synchronic examines the idea that time travel can be pretty perilous and occasionally results in life-threatening situations.
What are the guidelines for time travel in the film Synchronic?
Location Matters: Steve realises that the location of Synchronic is important. Conditions and risks can vary greatly between locations and times. Therefore, you can land in a hostile area or a safe location.
Age Affects the Experience: The impact of Synchronic depends in part on your age. If you’re older, it seems to merely give you a kind of hazy glimpse into the past. However, if you’re young, it can actually take you back then.
Time Never Stops: Steve comes to the conclusion that time never stops, much like a river. You can go around it, but it never stops, and the past is irrevocable.
Location Affects Time go: The location you are in when using Synchronic affects how far forward in time you will go. Your destination time can range significantly depending on even the smallest changes in your location.
Younger persons with a non-calcified pineal gland experience total time travel for a full seven minutes. They actually move to a different era. Older people, on the other hand, become like ghosts and can only briefly glimpse the past.
At the end of the seven minutes, you must still be in the same location where you took the Synchronic in order to return to the present. If not, you’ll be trapped in the previous time.
Re-taking Synchronic: If you aren’t where you need to be after seven minutes, you’ll need to take another Synchronic tablet, wait another seven minutes, and then double check that you’re where you need to be to get back to your own time.
Things Travel Through Time: Whatever you are holding when you take Synchronic will travel through time with you, but it may become warped or distorted.
These guidelines aid in illuminating how time travel functions in the Synchronic universe.
Describe Steve. What is his past?
Steve comes across as a decent man with some regrets in life. He has experienced his fair share of heartache, including the loss of his family, which particularly touched him because it involved his baby sister. Despite everything, he is a great person and a devoted friend.
Steve stands out because, despite having a significant pineal gland tumour, it is a particular kind that hasn’t caused his gland to become calcified. He is one of the few adults who can actually travel through time utilising Synchronic. He has this remarkable skill because of his medical condition.
Dennis, who is he? What is his tale?
Dennis appears to Steve to be a bit of a whiner, even if Dennis is doing wonderfully in life, in Steve’s opinion. Dennis frequently discusses his life and family and is seldom without a complaint. Despite everything, Dennis and Brianna, his oldest daughter, who is preparing to leave their house, have a close relationship. Steve is aware that Dennis will always be there for his daughter, no matter what happens in their life.
Dr. Kermani, who is he? Why is he doing that?
Dr. Kermani, a chemist, developed Synchronic while working for a company that makes synthetic medications, which are basically legal drugs. The thing is, the company rushed to put Synchronic on the market without realizing that it actually made users travel through time instead of just giving them hallucinations.
Dr. Kermani deeply regrets creating the drug because it’s led to people dying or having dangerous time-travel experiences. He’s on a mission to buy up all the remaining Synchronic from stores across the country. After he gets rid of all the drug, he plans to take his own life because he can’t bear the guilt of causing harm to so many people.
The radio news announces later in the film that Dr. Kermani was discovered dead after consuming cyanide. The story’s sad turn of events is heartbreaking.
What transpired in the movie Synchronic to Brianna? She is missing.
Like many other people, Brianna takes Synchronic and finds herself in a challenging circumstance. When the medicine takes effect, she goes to her favourite rock, but instead of just taking it all in, she finds herself instantly transported to a time that seems to be the Civil War era. Even though it’s not seen in the film, she panics and bolts from the rock in search of safety because it’s a terrifying circumstance.
In the past, Brianna must spend many days hiding among the bodies, and the same amount of time passes in the present. It’s a bizarre time-travel scenario.
Unaware of Brianna’s time-travel trip, Steve and Dennis later learn that she was present at the home where someone overdosed. Dennis becomes quite worried when they discover Brianna is missing and they don’t know where she is. He also begins to withdraw from his wife as he looks for Brianna.
Time-traveling Steve and the heartbreaking tale of his dog
In the movie “Synchronic,” Steve obtains 8 of the drug’s tablets. He goes back in time using the first tablet to a time before the marsh where his house was situated was drained. He nearly escapes a potentially fatal encounter with an alligator and a Spanish Conquistador when he travels to the past. For him, it’s a really exciting and dangerous experience.
Steve’s trip continues in “Synchronic,” which features some intriguing time travels:
He travels back to the Ice Age, which lasted for around 12,000 years, and comes across a caveman and a woolly mammoth.
During the Ice Age, Steve returns to the same location, but this time he is outfitted with wood and fuel to start a fire. He realises that since he departed, the same amount of time has elapsed both in the present and the past.
He goes back in time to the 1950s, when his house had already been constructed, but runs into the Klan. He is attempting to touch biological life and carry it back with him while abstaining from drug use. He is able to transport Hawking, his dog, into the past. At the conclusion of the seventh minute, he shifts out of base position, and they vanish.
Steve travels back to the 1950s and meets Hawking there at night to take a Synchronic tablet. Due to Steve’s limited ability to hold onto the leash till he returns, Hawking unfortunately gets lost just in time. Steve only has three tablets left at this point, and since he needs two tablets to bring Hawking back with him and one more to travel to a precise period when Brianna is present, he is unable to go back and save him.
Due to a lack of information, Steve assumes that Brianna was sitting on a chair on the roof when she took the drug. He takes a Synchronic while seated in that chair, which transports him to a different time period where he is attacked by a cult who believe he is a spirit. Thankfully, Steve manages to free himself from their grasp.
Dennis learns about Steve’s tumour diagnosis and the film that shows him travelling across time. Dennis resolves to leave a lasting message and wonders what he would do if he were stuck in time.
Steve takes a pill and settles down on a rock, thinking Brianna had inscribed the word “always” there. He is taken back in time to the Civil War, where he meets Brianna. Brianna receives his last Synchronic tablet, and they both hastily return to the rock.
Brianna consumes the last Synchronic tablet at a crucial juncture, setting up a crucial turning point in the narrative.
How to Understand a Synchronic Movie Ending| What Happens to Steve?
The final scene of “Synchronic” is chock full of dramatic tension:
A drunken attacker who is holding Steve and Brianna at gunpoint has them at his mercy.
Steve tries to deceive the assailant into walking on a landmine, which successfully detonates and causes a dramatic explosion in a desperate attempt to save themselves.
Steve, however, is left behind when Brianna is returned to the present since he was late in meeting her at the agreed-upon location.
Steve is currently trapped in the past and cannot travel to the present using any Synchronic tablets, as shown by the movie’s ending.
Steve’s friend Dennis sees him disappearing in the distance and extends a passionate “thank you for everything” by shaking his hand. The fact that they did this shows how much they value their friendship and the sacrifices Steve made.
It is speculated that Steve may not have lived for very long in the past, maybe dying before the tumour can claim his life, given the difficult circumstances and the lack of a mechanism to return to the present. It is true that the movie ends on a dramatic and bittersweet note.
Who penned “Always” on the rock in the Synchronic movie?
The rock appears to have remained unchanged throughout the movie’s events because Steve apparently decided against interfering with time any more than was required. He ultimately chose to engrave the word “always” as a message for Dennis, though. Despite not being directly depicted on film, this action concludes a causal chain that started with a misspelt word carved into a piece of rock. It’s a modest but significant approach for Steve to speak with his friend without materially changing the timeframe.
ALSO READ THIS: The Lord of the Rings 3: Return of the King (2003) Film Summary
