Hulu's "False Positive" is a Real Negative

Platform: Hulu

Release Date: June 25, 2021

Carrying the thought of “what the hell am I watching?” balances on a very thin line between satisfaction and disappointment and this original offering from Hulu drew that phrase from me quite often. The film finds Lucy (Ilana Glazer) and Adrian (Justin Theroux) struggling to get pregnant over a couple of years, which leads Adrian to seek out the help of his former teacher Dr. John Hindle (Pierce Brosnan). Hindle is the leading doctor in the fertility field and using an insemination technique he developed, helps Lucy become pregnant. From this point forward, Lucy experiences difficult decisions, such as selective reduction, and odd experiences, all of which appear tied back to Dr. Hindle and his team. As these experiences escalate, the authenticity of those around her begin to become questioned, as well as her own perceptions and sanity. It all ends with a bloody confrontation that sees Lucy confront Dr. Hindle about the truth pertaining to her entire experience under his care.

I know it's a style choice, but the movie opens with part of the ending, which is not a technique of which I am particularly fond. I already had an interest in seeing the movie, hence the reason I was watching it, I no longer need a teaser of what's to come. I was already here. But I digress. The film's plot is very disjointed, but in how its presented and in the details. The plot on its upper-most level is pretty color-by-number in the tracking from Lucy's trouble with pregnancy to Dr. Hindle's involvement to the complications and strange happenings to discovering Dr. Hindle's devious scheme. But when add the details, the twists, and the interesting happenings, it comes off very disjointed. From a narrative mixed with strange hallucinations and abstract visuals to the empty explanations and plot holes, it is as though they have no relevance at all. Things just do not fit into place and there is no in-story explanation as to why and a lot does not get tied back to the story in a satisfying way. Even worse, any suggested explanation can't be taken seriously because they are offered by the most untrustworthy character in the movie.

Casting Brosnan kept the movie from ever keeping its secret about Dr. Hindle's motives, as he never really played off being anything other than a villain. Maybe the director did not want to, because I even caught when he spoiled the movie in one of his opening lines. Ilana does a decent job as Lucy, this mother who is confronting nightmares while expecting her dream of motherhood to come true. Without her, this movie would have had no redeemable characters. The tone for this movie falls apart in its final act, while also teetering at various points throughout. For such a serious set of circumstances and revelations, the ending finds a groan-worthy line when Lucy is having it out with one of Hindle's nurses, Dawn. I don't remember the exact line, but it was something akin to “I trained myself to not have a gag reflex” after having something shoved down her throat. I can at least say the movie held onto its thriller persona up to that point. It did not provide many shocks, not that it did not try, but it was either a pretty cheap or confusing revelation. Hard to react to a climax when the build up is so fragmented.

Sitting with curious eyes as the end credits roll, I could not help but think about the early-2000's thriller, “Godsend,” led by Rebecca Romijn and Robert De Niro. That film, though different in the details of the characters' struggle, also involves a sinister doctor with an alterior motive in giving a couple a child. Dr. Hindle's primary secret in “False Positive” is near the same as that of this older film. While neither of these movies are very good, or even kind of good, at least “Godsend” carried itself with some class. Hulu's take on this concept came off a bit distateful. I am not one to scream from the top of a SJW soap box, but anyone sensitive to pregnancy difficulties in any sense should avoid this movie (actually, even if you're not sensitive to it). My problem with some of the imagery, especially with the female fetus, is that it seems more mindless than it has purpose. If this movie was supposed to offer some commentary on any aspect of fertility or pregnancy, it would only make those relevant to the issues feel worse.

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RATING: 👶.5 / 5

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