The Anomaly

The Anomaly
Directed by	Noel Clarke
Produced by	James Harris Mark Lane Noel Clarke
Written by	Simon Lewis Noel Clarke
Starring	Noel Clarke Ian Somerhalder Brian Cox Alexis Knapp
Music by	Tom Linden
Cinematography	David Katznelson
Edited by	Tommy Boulding
Production companies	Unstoppable Entertainment The Tea Shop Film Co.
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	June 19, 2014 (2014-06-19) (Edinburgh International Film Festival) July 4, 2014 (2014-07-04)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	£11.6 million

The Anomaly is a 2014 British science fiction action thriller film directed and co-produced by and starring Noel Clarke and also featuring Ian Somerhalder and Luke Hemsworth.

Plot

The film is set in a futuristic setting involving a battle over control of the mind and of cutting-edge biotechnology. Ex-soldier Ryan Reeve (Noel Clarke) wakes up in the back of a van next to a young boy, Alex (Art Parkinson), who is being held prisoner. He frees the boy and must work out what is happening in bursts of exactly nine minutes and forty-seven seconds, as the control and conscious awareness of his body is repeatedly being hijacked by another person. He teams up with the mysterious "Dana" (Alexis Knapp) as he battles a conspiracy known as "Anomaly" led by Harkin Langham (Ian Somerhalder).

Cast

• Noel Clarke as Pvt. Ryan Reeve/Anomaly #66
• Alexis Knapp as Dana
• Brian Cox as Dr. Lloyd Langham
• Ian Somerhalder as Agent Harkin Langham/Anomaly #X
• Rachael Jowett as Margaret
• Luke Hemsworth as Agent Richard Elkin/Anomaly #13
• Ali Cook as Agent Travis/Anomaly #97
• Art Parkinson as Alex

Production

The film was produced in the United Kingdom in 2013. Clarke performed his own stunts, modifying his diet and receiving fight training for the purpose.

Distribution

The first official trailer was released on 19 April 2014. The film was shown at the Edinburgh Film Festival in June 2014 and entered general release in the UK and the Republic of Ireland through Universal Pictures on 4 July.

Reception

The film was unanimously panned by critics, with a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 0% based on 16 reviews, making it the worst reviewed British film of 2014. On Metacritic, it has a score of 27 out of 100 from 7 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Mark Kermode of The Observer called it "ambitious but uneven". Other critics described it as "hilariously naff science-fiction mularkey" and "a peculiar Brit flick best described as a noble failure" and referred to "tangled conception and tortuously opaque execution" and to "meag[re] rewards for those willing to endure its laborious convolutions".

External links

• The Anomaly at IMDb
• The Anomaly at Rotten Tomatoes

• Jake Perlman, "'The Anomaly' trailer: Noe sci-fi action thriller", Inside Movies, Entertainment Weekly, 16 April 2014.
• Nathalie Raffray, "Magician Ali Cook turns spy for Noel Clarke’s The Anomaly", Ham & High, 10 July 2014.
• "Noel Clarke gave up pizzas for The Anomaly", Belfast Telegraph, 6 July 2014 (video).
• Neil Young, "'The Anomaly': Edinburgh Review", Hollywood Reporter, 18 June 2014.
• Guy Lodge, "Film Review: 'The Anomaly': Derivative and incomprehensible, Noel Clarke's shoestring sci-fi actioner doesn't live up to its title", Variety, 17 June 2014.
• "'The Anomaly': Noel Clarke fights time in sci-fi puzzle", cinema, Euronews, 7 July 2014.
• Mark Kermode, "The Anomaly review – ambitious but uneven sci-fi romp", The Observer, 5 July 2014.
• Allan Hunter, "The Anomaly: Cringe-worthy confusion paying homage to all sci-fi films", The Express, 4 July 2014.
• David Edwards, "The Anomaly review: Noel Clarke delivers a peculiar film best described as a noble failure", The Mirror, 4 July 2014.