Teknolust

There is a useful directness to Teknolust, a comedy shaped by Lynn Hershman Leeson with a firm understanding of its audience. In Teknolust, Tilda Swinton provides the anchor while Jeremy Davies introduces a contrasting energy. Without revealing later complications, Teknolust opens from this situation: Tilda Swinton plays four roles in this award winning film about Rosetta Stone and her three Self Replicating Automatons, which she cloned from her own D.N.A. The resulting its 1h 25m running time feels most convincing whenever Teknolust trusts behaviour more than explanation.

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In Teknolust, Lynn Hershman Leeson directs with a manner that is uncertain about tone and dramatic emphasis rather than eager to prove itself. Scenes in Teknolust gain weight when Lynn Hershman Leeson holds attention on a decision instead of hurrying toward its result. Isolated moments suggest a more compelling version for Teknolust, since the film keeps returning to its clearest dramatic priorities. The caveat is that Teknolust occasionally reveals how events happen without gathering enough dramatic force, which slightly weakens the build.

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Tilda Swinton approaches Teknolust with a useful mixture of commitment and restraint, making the role feel inhabited. Jeremy Davies provides Teknolust with an effective change of temperature whenever their character enters the scene. Even in limited space, James Urbaniak gives Teknolust another recognisable personality rather than a simple plot function. Lynn Hershman Leeson maintains a shared performance language across Teknolust, which matters when tone or pace begins to shift.

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Teknolust gains much of its identity from performer rhythm, a choice that makes the world readable as well as attractive. The contribution of Blue Turtle allows Teknolust to combine performer rhythm with a consistent visual language. Within its United Kingdom setting, Teknolust makes particularly good use of comic timing built around character when the story needs to change scale. Sound and editing preserve the personality of Teknolust by supporting detail instead of announcing every intended response.

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Teknolust finds its clearest story engine when Tilda Swinton comes into conflict with Rosetta Stone. That engine gives Tilda Swinton something concrete to pursue and protects Teknolust from empty movement. In the hands of Lynn Hershman Leeson, Self Replicating Automatons becomes a useful complication rather than a detached twist within Teknolust. The final use of the central character is familiar, but Teknolust has already established enough context for the turn to matter.

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The thematic thread that gives Teknolust weight is embarrassment, status and the gap between confidence and reality. Tilda Swinton grounds that thread so Teknolust never has to choose completely between entertainment and reflection. A recurring focus on Rosetta Stone gives the ideas in Teknolust enough dramatic pressure to matter. Under Lynn Hershman Leeson, Teknolust works best when viewers are invited to notice the theme before any character explains it.

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Teknolust ends as a film for only the most curious members of its likely audience, especially for comedy fans who respond to personality and timing. What remains from Teknolust is the relationship between Tilda Swinton, performer rhythm and Lynn Hershman Leeson's control of mood. The weakness that events happen without gathering enough dramatic force narrows the impact of Teknolust without cancelling its better work. On balance, Teknolust gives its intended viewers a distinctive experience rather than a completely anonymous piece of content.