IFFR Review: The Misconceived is a fascinating collision of unlikely worlds

I started this year, as I am wont to do, by scouring the lineups of upcoming film festivals to see what new animated titles might be popping up. One of the first sizable fests of the year is IFFR in Rotterdam, and there was a title there that caught my eye, because I couldn't quite tell if it was animation. When I reached out to the filmmakers and they sent me a link, it was accompanied by a message that read: "You'll find this project is very unusual and possibly not even true 'animation.'" That obviously piqued my interest.

That film is James N. Kienitz Wilkins's The Misconceived, a sort-of sequel (or a "thematic follow-up," per the director's statement) to the low-key indie The Plagiarists from 2019. I caught up with that movie ahead of watching this one, and found it to be an engaging and philosophical exercise, one that hones in on social mores and expectations of authenticity, and also has a lot of fun playing with indie filmmaking conventions. 

If you haven't seen The Plagiarists, you won't feel at all lost with The Misconceived. The main character is the same, but played by a different actor, and the events of the first film don't really impact what we see here. Hell, I probably wouldn't have even clocked this movie's Tyler as being the same one from the earlier film were it not for the press notes. So feel free to dive in here, if you're so inclined.

The first thing you notice about The Misconceived is the look. The film was built in the Unreal Engine, which is what's used to power a lot (maybe the majority?) of big-budget games. A combination of motion-capture actors and voice actors bring the characters to life, and there's a bizarre glee in seeing what everyone looks like. The main cast all look more-or-less "photo-real," with the obvious caveat that there's maybe no such thing. Sometimes the lips don't sync, a lot of the hand movement is wonky. Where was this film shot? Not far from the Uncanny Valley.

But that almost-but-not-quite realism is kind of the thing here, and not just aesthetically. Like The Plagiarists, The Misconceived is very much about authenticity, who's real, what's real, what gets filtered and left behind, what we present versus what we hold inside us. And that comes to bear in how some of the supporting cast looks, like the mischievous Mikey, who looks like a drugged-out Keebler elf, blood-shot eyes and pointy ears. He frequently chants "bukake...bukake..." Then there's Manuel, a laborer who looks like he was pulled out of Team Fortress 2. Or Kirby, a twink I was immediately crushing on who looks like he could be from the Bratz universe.

There's a near-constant clash of character appearances that really keeps you on your toes, and makes some of the scenes feel like fever dreams.

Especially as they all occupy a world that is so real, so detailed, and so mundane in a lot of ways. There are so many faithfully recreated logos peppering the house-in-progress where our characters are working, doing various construction tasks and sometimes shooting the shit after hours. Chase Bank, Coca-Cola, various streamers. Like, this is our world, except it's not: it's this video game-y slant ride that makes even the most common conversation or action take on an other-worldly air. It's so fucking cool, and strange.

To even describe the film's plot feels like a disservice, because there's kind of no way to undersell it. But maybe that's fine, because this is a good movie to go into with no expectations and an open mind, and see what you find there.

Tyler is a failed filmmaker who has left his artistic aspirations behind. He gets brought onto a construction job by Widgey, an older guy with a somewhat short fuse. Widgey needs an extra hand since his former colleague ghosted the team. So in comes Tyler, working alongside previously-mentioned Mikey to get things in order.

The surprise is that Tyler actually knows the owner of the house they're fixing up: his college roommate Tobin, who he hasn't spoken to in more than a decade. Tobin is an artist who has to worry about authenticity, appealing to a young audience, whether he looks like a try-hard, all those concerns Tyler has gotten to let go of as he's settled into a life of more "common" labor. Coming face-to-face with Tobin brings Tyler's arc into stark relief: is he a sell out, did he give up, is he too good for Hollywood, or not good enough? Anyone who loves movies will find a lot to chew on here, from the wide array of references (Steamboat Willy, Sean Baker, Paw Patrol, Chinatown) and the intensely philosophical debate that serves as the film's de facto climax, if there is one. It's the kind of discourse you almost wish would find its way to Film Twitter rather than the mindless bullshit that tends to happen there: wondering if film is still the language of the people, if it reflects the world, what the responsibility of telling stories is. It made my head spin and my heart race, a kind of intellectual thunderstorm that will leave a lot of viewers (myself included) vibrating.

I love how The Misconceived really feels like it sprouted up at a cross-roads that you would never expect, like how did these worlds collide? On the one hand, it's very much an indie film, a super low-key maybe borderline-mumblecore deal that is on its own wavelength. On the other hand, it's this huge technological swing that is really audacious and ambitious, which feels like it should be at odds with the content but instead enhances, underlines, and enriches it. It's just a really fucking cool movie, and I'm excited to see what these mad geniuses come up with next.