The musical score by Keegan DeWitt (Hearts Beat Loud) is suitably moody, working in typical noir elements like brass instruments with a modern ambient sensibility. It's style without being eaten alive by it (Neon Demon broadside?).
The sleek cinematography by Andrew Reed (Cold Weather) deals in cool teals and purples, creating a hazy, 1980s-esque atmosphere without becoming annoying omnipresent like in a Nicolas Refn film. Kravtiz (Rough Night) and Cho (Star Trek Beyond) are both unpredictable in different ways, making the audience glean extra subtleties from their guarded performances. There's a lot going on behind those saucer-eyes of hers and I wish the movie served her better by the end. She's a natural screen presence while still radiating a sense of relatability. The acting is generally good all around, especially from Kirke (Gone Girl, Amazon's Mozart in the Jungle). The are several merits of Katz's film that are worth mentioning. All the while the detective appears to be circling something. Jill infiltrates the ex-boyfriend's hotel room and has to avoid detection and it is an efficient small-scale suspense sequence. Jill's visit with the director becomes a humorous sit-down where the guy theorizes who is guilty if it were a movie, finally concluding it would probably be Jill as a twist. Each new trip to a suspect presents a different mood and aim. He's a calm, empathetic man but he always seems to know more than he lets on, asking probing questions that Jill doesn't feel comfortable answering. This is also where Katz introduces a new threat in the presence of Detective Edward Ahn (John Cho).
#Gemini movie channel series
Once the murder takes place, Gemini becomes more recognizable with its film noir elements, as Jill adopts a disguise and investigates a series of suspects that could have killed the starlet, including the director she spurned and an old boyfriend who has trouble letting go. Katz's screenplay slowly builds, organically establishing the complicated world of Jill and her general sense of being an outsider wherever she goes. That's the first third of the movie and it works well. The next day, Jill comes back to Heather's palatial home and finds her dead on the floor and the growing realization that she is the number one suspect (her fingerprints are on the gun). That night, Heather is fearful that someone has been following her and asks for a gun.
Is she more hired-help or BFF? Heather backs out of a movie and talks about starting her own production company, with Jill and her developing projects that appeal to them.
Katz does a very effective job of establishing Jill's world of responsibilities as well as her confusing sense of where she fits in this equation. She's Heather's support and one of her best friends. She deals with pushy directors, invasive press, and boundary-blurring fan interactions. We follow the day-to-day of Jill (Lola Kirke), a personal assistant to a popular actress, Heather Anderson (Zoe Kravitz). The beginning thirty minutes do a fine job of establishing a world and perspective. Then writer/director Aaron Katz (Land Ho!) went with his ending, and now we need to talk about Gemini, a neo-noir set in the world of movie stars, paparazzi, and sycophantic hangers-on in the city of angels. Had this movie ended differently, I probably would have simply postponed writing about it. Dear reader, I want you to know upfront that I'm writing this review for one major purpose, and that is to complain about its ending.
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