Siblings Eva (Kiernan Shipka, Mad Men) & Zac (Timothée Chalamet, Interstellar) have lived their entire lives cut off from the modern world. They live and work on a farm that has no electricity and is completely surrounded by a wall—their father Daniel (Grant Bowler, Defiance) says it is to keep bad people out, but they are starting to realize, it is to keep them in. Their father is afraid of their supernatural abilities—the siblings can teleport themselves as far as their eyes can see—and wants to keep his children under his control.

The children’s mother Elizabeth (Elizabeth Reaser, Twilight) is growing increasingly ill, and Daniel blames his children’s using their supernatural powers for her illness. At first he thought the powers might have been a gift from God, but now suspects the opposite. He takes measures to try to stop his children from exploring their abilities—including nailing their clothes to the wall, forcing them to stand, facing the wall (so they can’t teleport anywhere) for hours on end. However, the two continue to sneak out of their rooms at night and head to the river to freely test the limits of their abilities. This causes their father to move on to even more drastic disciplinary measures.

Can the children escape their prison before it is too late? And are they prepared for the unknown world that lies beyond the wall?

One & Two is beautifully shot and has some stunning visual sequences. I really liked the setting as it lends both a rustic beauty but also an eerie natural simplicity—especially in darker scenes lit by candlelight—to the film. There were several tense moments when I was at the edge of my seat, not knowing exactly how far Daniel was planning to go in his discipline of the kids.

The main cast all give really strong performances. Grant Bowler plays the role of the intimidating, slightly crazy disciplinarian really well. I was always a bit freaked out whenever he was on screen—always wondering when he might crack and go completely overboard. And both actors playing the children perfectly convey this mix of sweet innocence, love and fear. I found myself genuinely caring about their well-being.

While the film sets up a really interesting world, it never really became the film I hoped it would be/the excellent film it could have been. The creators seemed to focus more on the artistic side of things and less on the overall story arc—it kind of reminded me of Tree of Life in that respect. While it has some great moments, the story doesn’t feel complete, and doesn’t really leave the viewer with much of an ending. In the second half of the film when Eva is out into the real world, there isn’t much done with this—there was so much opportunity to explore the major culture shock she would have after living in her isolated, 4-person prison for a decade and a half. I found myself more interested in what was happening back on the farm.

Also, scattered throughout the film, each character gets a scene where we hear his or her inner monologue, but these don’t seem to serve any major purpose. They are just spaced out randomly over the course of the film and there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why they are there. If the writers had put as much into the overall story as they did with the look and feel of the film, this could have been a truly great film!

The visual presentation of the film looks wonderful on this bBlu-ray—I found the film to be visually stunning, with some very creative shots used throughout the film. The simple puffs of smoke used for the teleportation visual effect of the look very natural and it feels like these children really do have powers. The audio track provides clear dialogue. The surround channel is sparingly used, but when it is used, it is done in a satisfying way that helps to inform what is happening on screen. Unfortunately, the only bonus material included on the disc is the trailer for the film. It would have been nice to at least have had an audio commentary—for films like this with a more artistic focus, I always like to hear from the film’s creator as to what his or her goal was.

What’s Included:
Film: (1:30:30)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH

DVD:

• 480p / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English Dolby Surround 5.1, English Dolby Stereo 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

• Trailer (2:09)

Final Thoughts:

One & Two is a visually stunning film with some really strong performances from the main cast. While I really enjoyed parts of the film, I found the overall story a bit lacking, and the film didn’t really come to a conclusion. I had much higher hopes for this film, and I think it had the potential to be so much more. That said I still think the film is work a look, purely based on the presentation and performances. So perhaps a rental before a blind buy.