Inheritance – A Deeply Silly Spy Thriller (Early Review)

Inheritance is a spy thriller from writer/director Neil Burger that stars Phoebe Dynevor as Maya, a woman who, following the passing of her mother, learns that her estranged father Sam (Rhys Ifans) was once a spy. Little did she know, after accompanying him on a trip to Egypt, she would find herself at the center of an international conspiracy. In her quest for answers, Maya becomes a target herself and must travel the globe, mastering her father’s skills and unraveling the mysteries of his complicated past while trying to save him. Perfectly fine in the moment, though the film offers up some decent thrills in terms of the spy genre, audiences have seen it all before while also requiring the suspension of disbelief in order to get behind its overt silliness.

Dynevor is easily the best thing about the entire film as she gives her all to Maya. A departure for her, she pulls it off well, making her and her survival easy to become emotionally invested in spite of her flaws. On the other hand, Ifans delivers yet another solid performance as Sam. Meanwhile, the strong chemistry between he and Dynevor makes for the kind of father-daughter dynamic worth investing in as well, set up by their stellar work early on. From there, moving on at a good pace, the film, running at just over the 100-minute mark, is never boring. The decision to shot it on an iPhone would seem like a risky choice, however, that choice proved to enhance the experience and adds a level of immersion to several scenes, including a showstopping motorcycle chase. That being said, the cinematography might take a little time to get used to for some but ultimately, it is a cool idea that adds to the film more than it detracts from it, and definitely would have kept costs down considering its globe-trotting narrative.

In the end, what ultimately holds the film back is the story and the script’s constant leaps in logic. While spy thrillers don’t necessarily have to be whip smart or deeply layered to work, this one almost acts as if it were a live action cartoon with how silly and over-the top it can become at times. The story gets so far fetched to the point where it constantly pulls audiences out and though Maya is an easy character to invest in, the incredibly contrived leaps the film makes in order to advance its story become rather silly over time as it pushes the limits on believability. Similarly, the many flaws in the script extend to the dialogue that feels unnatural in this setting. Culminating with an unexpected plot twist, it not only does not work, it also leads to a rushed and unsatisfying payoff that only adds even more silliness to the story.

Inheritance might scratch a certain itch for fans of the spy genre, but this particular effort is a disposable one that is in debt to far better films. In spite of a script that seemingly goes out of its way to let her down, Dynevor emerges unscathed, however, it is clear that she and her many talents deserve a far better film than this. Not quite worth immediately rushing out to the theaters to see, for audiences who are fans of this genre, this one is sure to make for a passable watch come its eventual streaming release. On the positive side, the film marks one of Burger’s best films in recent memory, even if that statement isn’t truly saying much.

still courtesy of IFC Films

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/