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False Positive (film)

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False Positive
Official poster
Directed byJohn Lee
Screenplay by
  • John Lee
  • Ilana Glazer
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPawel Pogorzelski
Edited byJon Philpot
Music by
  • Yair Elazar Glotman
  • Lucy Railton
Production
company
Distributed byHulu
Release dates
  • June 18, 2021 (2021-06-18) (Tribeca)
  • June 25, 2021 (2021-06-25)
Running time
92 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

False Positive is a 2021 American horror film, directed by John Lee, from a screenplay by Lee and Ilana Glazer. It stars Glazer, Justin Theroux, Pierce Brosnan, and Sophia Bush.

It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 18, 2021. It was released on June 25, 2021 by Hulu.[2]

Plot

Copywriter Lucy Martin lives with her husband Adrian in Manhattan. The couple has been trying to conceive for two years and decide to seek out Dr. John Hindle, Adrian's former teacher and a leading fertility doctor. Later, she becomes pregnant after Dr. Hindle inseminates her, using a technique he invented. During an ultrasound she discovers she is pregnant with three fetuses: male twins and a female. Considering the circumstances, Hindle suggests a selective reduction; either the twins or the female fetus are terminated to ensure a healthy pregnancy and birth. Adrian and Lucy decide to have the female baby. Lucy joins a group of expecting mothers, where she befriends Corgan, who got pregnant using IVF. Lucy discovers Grace Singleton, a spiritual midwife with a natural approach and develops a fascination with her.

During the reduction, Lucy passes out and hears Adrian and Hindle talk. Later she bleeds strongly from her uterus, which Hindle dismisses as a common instance. Lucy meets with Corgan who shares that she is having complications with her pregnancy. Adrian presents Hindle with an award and Lucy grows wary of him. That night, Lucy finds a safe in Adrian's office and later shares with Corgan that she has growing suspicions that Hindle did something to her unborn daughter and Adrian is aware. Corgan assures her that it is just "mommy brain". While watching a video on Grace's website, Lucy hallucinates a meeting with her. After Lucy has further complications, including abdominal pain, Hindle blames this on antenatal depression and prescribes her medication. Lucy meets with Grace and shares that she lost her mother two years ago. After having a dream where she sees Hindle and Adrian having sex, Lucy opens Adrian's safe and finds a file on her, including evidence that she is being monitored. She shares this with Corgan, who takes the file to show her lawyer husband and suggests that Lucy behave normally until she knows more. Lucy confronts Adrian, admitting she doesn't feel safe with Hindle, that she wants to switch to Grace, and that she will quit her job after she was removed from an important project due to her pregnancy.

During her baby shower, Lucy realizes that Corgan knows her real name, despite never having shared it. When she finds medication prescribed by Hindle in her bathroom, Lucy confronts her and Corgan shares that she is with Hindle too and that she gave the file to Adrian because she was worried about her mental state. Lucy experiences contractions and goes to Grace to give birth. When she does, she discovers she is giving birth to the twins instead of the female baby. Before Lucy can birth the second twin, Grace urges them to a hospital after strong bleeding but Adrian brings her to Hindle, who delivers the second baby. Disillusioned and depressed, Lucy talks to Grace but realizes that she imagined her as more than she was. Lucy goes to Hindle's clinic to confront him, where she learns Adrian and Hindle will merge and operate together. Lucy sneaks into a secret room in the clinic, where she finds her placenta and reduced fetus. Hindle confronts her and reveals it was his sperm used for inseminating Lucy, as he does with all his patients, believing his genes to be superior. He attempts to drug her but she restrains him to a medical chair, after which she is attacked by a nurse, Dawn. Following a fight, she drugs Dawn and beats Hindle bloody, destroying his sperm and leaving the office with the fetus. Arriving at home, she imagines herself releasing the twins to float out of the window. When Adrian comes home, Lucy accuses him of knowing about the plot to save the twins, which he denies. She gives him the twins and orders him to leave. Lucy then surrenders and picks up the fetus. She attempts to breastfeed it and hallucinates that it begins to suckle.

Cast

Production

In February 2019, it was announced Ilana Glazer would star in the film, with John Lee producing from a screenplay by himself and Glazer. A24 would produce.[3] In March 2019, Pierce Brosnan, Zainab Jah, Gretchen Mol, Sophia Bush and Josh Hamilton joined the cast of the film.[4]

Filming

Principal photography began in April 2019.[5]

Release

In December 2020, Hulu acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.[6] It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 18, 2021.[7] The film was released on Hulu on June 25, 2021.[8]

Reception

False Positive holds a 51% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 51 reviews with a weighted average of 5.70/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Its classic horror aims exceed its blood-slicked grasp, but False Positive works its way sneakily under the skin."[9] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 59 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[10]

The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review calling it "a juicy genre entry" while conceding it "might not quite stick the landing."[11] The A.V. Club gave the film a B- rating but said "for a movie with this much blood, it doesn’t leave much of a stain."[12] IndieWire gave the film a D+ and criticized its obvious debts to other films such as Rosemary's Baby.[13]

References

  1. ^ "False Positive". Tribeca Film Festival. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  2. ^ Cadenas, Kerensa (March 16, 2021). "Ilana Glazer's New Movie Is a Thriller About IVF". The Cut. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  3. ^ Miska, Brad (February 12, 2019). "A24's 'False Positive' to Star "Broad City's" Ilana Glazer!". Bloody-Disgusting.com. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  4. ^ Kroll, Justin (March 28, 2019). "Justin Theroux and Pierce Brosnan Join A24's 'False Positive'". Variety. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  5. ^ "Sophia Bush & Ilana Glazer Spotted Filming False Positive in New York City". OK! Magazine. April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  6. ^ Welk, Brian (December 14, 2020). "Ilana Glazer Pregnancy Film 'False Positive' Nabbed by Hulu". TheWrap. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  7. ^ "Announcing The Feature Film Lineup For Tribeca 2021". Tribeca Film Festival. April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  8. ^ Cadenas, Kerensa (March 16, 2021). "Ilana Glazer's New Movie Is a Thriller About IVF". The Cut. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  9. ^ "False Positive (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  10. ^ "False Positive Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  11. ^ Rooney, David (June 17, 2021). "Ilana Glazer and Justin Theroux in 'False Positive': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  12. ^ Rife, Katie (June 17, 2021). "Ilana Glazer gives birth to a nightmare in the pregnancy horror movie False Positive". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  13. ^ Erbland, Kate (June 17, 2021). "'False Positive' Review: Ilana Glazer's Pregnancy Thriller Isn't a Bad 'Rosemary's Baby' Riff, It's Worse". IndieWire. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
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