Whodunit? Does it matter?
If a movie was entirely about setting a mood and sticking with it, Aaron Katz's Los Angeles murder mystery, Gemini, would be an unbridled success. Katz, serving as writer, director, and editor of the movie, sets the scene brilliantly. What he fails to do is serve up a story that is remotely worthy of its trappings.
At the center of the movie is Jill (Lola Kirke), an assistant to movie star Heather Anderson (Zoë Kravitz). They may be friends, but there is no question that Jill works for Heather, so when Heather—for no reason the movie cares to delve into—decides she wants to drop out of a project, it falls to Jill to make Heather's desires known. It is Jill who has to try and keep away adoring fans. It is Jill who has to keep Heather out of trouble. It is Jill who is deemed a suspect when a dead body is found in Heather's home.
From there things go from somber to somber and silly as Jill decides to evade the police, led by Detective Edward Ahn (John Cho), and try to put together for herself exactly what happened. It is a task for which Jill is ill-equipped, and the evidence against her is circumstantial at best, but one she sets for herself anyway.
At times Gemini seems overly self-satisfied. It pats itself on the back as Jill discusses possible murder suspects with Greg (Nelson Franklin), one of the people who has been working to put together the movie Heather just left. Greg goes so far as to discuss what he would do if he were making the screenplay for the murder, including indicating possible twists. It is a poorly placed, overly self-aware scene, one which reveals just how few suspects there are for Jill to care about and lets the audience know to expect a plot twist. Franklin is funny here, but that isn't enough to sell it.
In fact, Gemini regularly trades on our ideas of what a murder mystery movie should be. As a single example of this, Jill's running from the police feels more plausible because everyone has seen a movie (or TV show) where an innocent person is accused and runs from the cops in an attempt to prove their innocence. Gemini itself doesn't offer her a great reason to run, but the audience is able to impose other instances where the police have gone after the wrong person as motivation.
Whether Katz is attempting to show the depressing side of the film business or joking about it (or something else) is unclear, but what comes across in his depiction of stars, assistants, and everyone else is that there need be no explicit reason for anything occurring. Actions are taken based on whims, whether it's Heather dropping out of a movie, Greg stating a desire to leave the country, or Jill attempting to evade the police.
Those in the audience trying to work their way through the murder alongside Jill will constantly be stymied by the film's reluctance to offer the reasons for characters' actions and/or feelings. It is a fool's errand as for much of its run Gemini offers the sense that it could be nearly any of the aforementioned characters responsible for the killing, just as it could be Heather's ex-boyfriend, Devin (Reeve Carney); a weird fan, Sierra (Jessica Parker Kennedy); an annoyed paparazzo, Stan (James Ransone); or Heather's friend, Tracy (Greta Lee). The list of plausible murderers is offered not because the mystery is well-constructed, but rather because it is hollow enough that any of the characters could fill in the solution.
Gemini sets a difficult task for its stars due to its own obstinacy in providing them with reasonable, understandable motivations and backstories. Jill is certainly the most well-rounded of those we see on screen, but that is merely because the audience spends most of their time with her.
Undeniably, however, the entire thing is gorgeous to look at, with its deliberate, slow-moving camera, beautiful sets, and relaxed pacing. This is all further advanced by Keegan DeWitt's music. It is, for Gemini, all about setting a dark mood, establishing a real sense of place and, from time-to-time, danger. Here it succeeds in spades. It is, in fact, nearly worth watching for these elements alone.
The Verdict
If one goes into a murder mystery film in order to try to solve the mystery, Gemini will fall flat. If one goes into such a film in order to understand characters and motivations, Gemini will again fall flat. If one wants to better understand Hollywood and the actions of the players therein, Gemini will still fall flat. If one simply wants a movie to carry them along based upon its style, to be allowed to float with the camera and drift in and out of the lives of the subjects as if carried on a wave, Gemini works very well. It is a lovely trip in search of a better story.
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