Universal is an odd little movie. It seems to be made up of codes. First, there’s that title. Universal is hardly universal in any sense. It takes place in one setting, and the action is essentially a dialogue among three characters; no one else appears in the cast. It sets up situations and then doesn’t follow through, at least in an expected way. Are these missed opportunities or parts of the design?
Basically, in Universal, three people in a cabin in the woods confront the mysteries of the universe. Leo and Naomi are US-based British academics. They’ve been dating for three years. They arrive at a holiday rental, ready for relaxation. Leo has a wedding ring and is ready to pop the question. His plan is scuttled by Rickey, a graduate student at his college, who appears at the door. Rickey has been working in their mutual lab and made a startling discovery about “junk DNA,” Leo’s field of study, whose research will bring him tenure. Rickey drove hours to see him and avoids leaving. Remarkably, Leo and Naomi warm to Rickey’s discovery, which we see as primitively animated monochrome diagrams on her laptop.
Everybody is onboard with the premise. The actors give engaged, relaxed performances: Joe Thomas is appealingly nerdy as Leo, Rosa Robson softens convincingly to circumstances as Naomi, and Kelley Mack has an impish charm as the intruding Rickey. They talk, and they talk. There is precious little conflict yet several opportunities for it: a drug-fueled party; surprise nudity; a gun suddenly revealed. But little comes of them. And then the end credits roll. The ninety minutes have flown by, but to quote David Letterman, “It’s a long way to travel to find out the store is closed.”
Yet I would recommend Universal as a pleasant, low-impact experience. Weeks after seeing it, I think back on it fondly. The performances are shar,p even if it’s hard to figure out just what the film’s stakes are.
Writer/director Stephen Portland seems earnest and deals in clues here, but to a mystery only he can solve. Universal is pokey, and its arc is inconclusive, but it feels “organic,” very much intentional, and leaves you wanting more. Mr. Portland directed another film with a similarly generic one-word title, Something, in 2018.
In some respects, Universal feels like a prelude to a longer film. I wonder if there was more to it, and if the production was truncated by the tragic death of one of the actors. The film is dedicated to “the late” Kelley Mack, who plays Rickey, and who suffered a brain tumor, aged 33. Ms. Mack had a starring role in a season of The Walking Dead and did voice work for animated films. She might well have gone on to a solid career.
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Universal. Directed by Stephen Portland. 2025. Runtime 90 minutes. Available on demand.