"Jagged Mind" intrigues and then gets ludicrous

Jagged Mind (2023)

In "Jagged Mind," writer Allyson Morgan and director Kelley Kali explore a toxic relationship through a time-loop-adjacent plot hook. The film doesn’t shy away from confronting such harrowing subject matter to come across as cheap, nor does it feel exploitative for exploitation’s sake. There is some compelling material here for a psychological thriller, but the mechanics behind the plot device grow increasingly silly, becoming more and more difficult to buy into any of it. That’s kind of a deal-breaker with any story.

Based on writer Morgan’s own short film First Date (part of Hulu’s “Bite Size Halloween” collection), the re-titled "Jagged Mind" follows Billie (Maisie Richardson-Sellers), an art curator living in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami. Encouraged by best friend Kim (Kate Szekely), she stops hooking up with her boss, Christine (Rosalind Elbay), and tries looking elsewhere. Just as Billie is suffering blackouts and a bad case of déjà vu, Alex (Shannon Woodward) comes into Billie’s life. She orders Billie a glass of wine from across the room and moves pretty fast from there. Over the course of six months, their relationship seems too good to be true, even if Alex doesn’t completely open up. In between the blackouts and the gaps in her memory that have worsened, Billie starts to see the red flags and the cracks in Alex’s abusive personality. Read the full review at Guy At the Movies.

Grade: C -

20th Digital Studio released "Jagged Mind" (88 min.) to Hulu on June 15, 2023.