Things Will Be Different Is Your New Favorite Time Traveler. This movie is a striking cinematic debut by Michael Felker, a filmmaker who definitely isn’t unknown to you. He is best known for his editing work with Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead – two literal legends in the THiNC. community, the celebrated duo behind mind-bending films like The Endless, Resolution, Synchronic and Spring. With Benson and Moorhead serving as executive producers and even making appearances in the film, Things Will Be Different clearly carries their stamp of intricate, high-concept storytelling. However, this film also boldly establishes Felker as a voice to watch – blending genres, tones, and narrative structures to craft a unique cinematic experience.
The Making of a Puzzling Masterpiece
It’s pretty cool to watch someone step out of their comfort zone and move into the Quarterback slot of movie making. Felker, with this distinctive movie, has stepped out from behind the shadows in order to direct this amazing film. And it appears as though his work with Benson and Moorhead seems to have prepared him well for the challenge. Known for their seamless blending of intimate character studies with grand, cosmic ideas, Benson and Moorhead have built a reputation for exploring time, space, and human connection. Their influence looms large over Things Will Be Different, which similarly melds a deeply personal narrative with mind-bending science fiction.
While Benson and Moorhead have a reputation for pushing cinematic boundaries on modest budgets, Felker builds on that tradition. Working alongside co-editor Rebeca Marques, he crafts a prismatic and nonlinear visual language that feels fresh and ambitious. The result is a genre-blurring film that shifts between action thriller, relationship drama, and existential puzzle with dizzying fluidity. The minimalist, yet eerie, score heightens the tension, while the stark cinematography—highlighting snowy, desolate landscapes—reflects the film’s themes of isolation and existential dread.
The Story: A Temporal Labyrinth
At its core, Things Will Be Different follows estranged siblings Joseph (Adam David Thompson) and Sidney (Riley Dandy), two small-time criminals whose lives take a bizarre turn when they stumble upon a time machine. After a botched heist, they retreat to a remote farmhouse equipped with this mysterious device, hoping to lay low and escape detection. But, as with any tale involving time travel, complications quickly arise.
The film opens with these two siblings navigating the tense aftermath of their heist. Joseph, the more calculating of the two, has a plan to keep them safe; while Sidney, driven by her maternal instincts, is desperate to return to her daughter. Their escape seems secure, but their time machine unexpectedly strands them in a temporal purgatory. Signs begin to appear—literal, cryptic signs—that warn them not to jump back to their original timeline just yet.
As they wait, a temporal tape recorder – which I must say was a fantastically unique communication device I’ve never seen done before – connects them to the future and the past. And through this bizarre temporal telegraph machine, they are tasked with completing a series of enigmatic challenges. Challenges that are threatening both the future and the past. These tasks grow increasingly perilous and psychologically taxing, forcing the siblings to confront not only their immediate predicament but also their fractured relationship. The duo needs to defeat a masked vengeance-filled hunter, out to get them both. But it starts to become clear that something else might be happening … a larger game might be happening here.
Felker introduces a pair of enigmatic time agents—played by Benson and Sarah Bolger—who monitor the siblings’ actions with cold detachment. These agents view the siblings’ situation as a failure in the temporal cycle, suggesting that their existence itself might be an anomaly. They manipulate Joseph and Sidney with a quiet menace, pushing them toward decisions that could either save them or erase them entirely.
Questions and Answers to the Movie Things Will Be Different
- What was the Vise?
- The vise are the individuals behind in time, and forward in time. Time travel overlords, or watchers, that manage and control the events that are happening between them, within the squeeze and grip of their time control.
- Why are Joseph and Sydney on the run?
- They have committed a heist, and managed to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. In so doing, they stumble upon the time traveling farm house that exists outside of time.
- Who was the regular that was the threat to the “Vise”? The individual hunting Joseph and Sydney?
- Steph is the threat.
- Um. Yo, who the hell is Steph? And why is she a threat?
- Oh, dear movie watcher, who chose not to pay attention while also watching TikTok – Steph is Sydney’s daughter.
- OK. Fine, you don’t need to be a pain in the ass about it… why was Steph a threat? What is going on here??
- Sydney disappears after the heist… getting caught in this time loop. This then leaves her daughter Steph alone. Presumably dead. Steph then focuses all her energy on getting revenge, and hunts the house down to kill everyone she can.
- There is a jump cut at the end, what happened to Joseph after asking for another chance to save his sister’s life?
- Well, failure after failure after failure is what happens to Joseph. He didn’t just fail the one time we saw, he failed over and over again. Each time waiting for the arrival of Steph. Each time vowing to change events. But each time getting bested by Steph. So, Joseph, at the end, knows that the only way out of the fatal (Sisyphean loop) is to beg his sister to kill him, leave the money behind, and to run.
- What happens after Sydney runs for it…
- Well, we can’t know, but I’m betting my cut of the heist money that Sydney and Steph actually get reunited somewhere in time. Maybe long after these events, and they are forever more tragically altered by these events.
A Film of Layers and Emotional Depth
While Things Will Be Different is packed with high-stakes action and mind-bending twists, it is equally concerned with the emotional journey of its characters. At its heart is the evolving bond between Joseph and Sidney, whose relationship is fraught with unresolved tensions. They are not biological siblings, a fact revealed in fragmented flashbacks. However, their shared history gives them a familial closeness, even as their differing priorities threaten to tear them apart.
Visually, the film mirrors the characters’ isolation and disorientation. The farmhouse becomes a character in its own right, a liminal space where time and reality blur. Felker’s use of natural sound enhances the atmosphere, making viewers hyper-aware of every creak of the floorboards and every distant rustle in the surrounding cornfields. The stark, snow-covered landscapes that surround the farmhouse serve as a physical manifestation of the characters’ internal desolation, a frigid, unending expanse that traps them as much as their temporal limbo does.
The film’s editing—a collaboration between Felker and Marques—is another standout element. Scenes are cut in a way that generates tension not through rapid pacing, but through deliberate stasis and silence. The nonlinear structure keeps the audience on edge, forcing them to piece together the fragmented narrative alongside the characters. This style, reminiscent of works like Primer and Timecrimes, invites multiple viewings to fully appreciate its intricacies.
The Meaning: A Meditation on Time, Regret, and Connection
Beyond its plot mechanics, Things Will Be Different is a deeply philosophical film. It explores themes of regret, redemption, and the inescapable pull of the past. The time travel element, while central to the narrative, serves as a metaphor for the characters’ emotional journeys. Joseph and Sidney are literally stuck in the past, unable to move forward until they confront their unresolved issues and the consequences of their choices.
The film’s title itself—Things Will Be Different—is laden with irony. Why? BECAUSE THINGS ARE OBVIOUSLY NOT GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. As the characters strive to rewrite their past mistakes, they are repeatedly confronted with the cyclical nature of their existence. Every attempt to change their fate seems to bring them back to the same point, underscoring the futility of their struggle. Yet, the film also suggests that change is possible, not through external actions, but through internal growth and acceptance. And it’s only through Joseph’s final act of sacrificial love that ultimately frees his sister.
Conclusion: A Promising Debut with Depth and Style
Things Will Be Different is a bold and confident debut that showcases Michael Felker’s unique vision and storytelling prowess. While it may not provide all the answers, it offers a rich, layered experience that rewards close attention and repeated viewings. Felker’s collaboration with Benson and Moorhead is evident in the film’s ambition and execution, but he also carves out his own identity as a filmmaker willing to take risks.
Though its narrative complexity may frustrate some viewers, the film’s emotional depth, atmospheric visuals, and strong performances make it a standout entry in the sci-fi thriller genre. It’s a film that dances, as Pedro Almodóvar might put it, rather than merely moves—inviting audiences to lose themselves in its rhythm, even if they don’t fully understand every step. For those willing to engage with its mysteries, Things Will Be Different offers a cinematic journey that lingers long after the credits roll.
Edited by: CY