Chariot Review: Quirky Sci-Fi With Potential Ends Up Aimless & Confusing

screenrant.com:

Oftentimes, the trickiest elements of a movie to nail are the ones that seem intangible: atmosphere, pacing, tone, those features of the viewing experience that appear to materialize spontaneously but are actually the culmination of several sustained choices. Establishing and maintaining one tone can be tricky enough, but some stories aim to combine — or, even more challenging, shift between — two or more, and the films and filmmakers that succeed are among the medium's most celebrated. Those that try and fail to strike the proper balance, while not as enjoyable to watch, are almost as interesting to critique; case studies of how to end up on the wrong side of a thin line separating masterworks and misfires. Chariot, a befuddling movie from writer-director Adam Sigal that presents as unsure of its own intentions, is one of these. Stuck somewhere between puzzle film and quirky comedy, between imitating David Lynch and parodying him, it draws its audience in with the overtures of a compelling mystery only to leave them stranded in what is fundamentally a failure of tone.

It is worth mentioning that the official synopsis for Chariot is far more transparent about the plot than the movie itself ever is (the trailer, doing its best to hint at narrative coherence, is forced to pull from a monologue delivered in the last five minutes), but here goes: the enigmatic Dr. Karn (John Malkovich) specializes in guiding unwitting patients through the process of reincarnation. When his new charge, Harrison (Thomas Mann), who comes in having experienced a maddeningly mundane recurring dream almost 5000 times without relief, encounters and instantly connects with Maria (Rosa Salazar), the psychiatrist recognizes a rare glitch in system.