Firmly established in the digital age as its own genre, Screenlife comprises movies taking place in their entirety on computer screens. A real pioneer in this medium is filmmaker-producer Timur Bekmambetov, who has shepherded some of the best-known and better films in the format including 2015’s horror film Unfriended, 2018’s suspense-driven Searching and its 2023 sequel Missing). Now in the age of cryptocurrency, Bekmambetov and his company are behind LifeHack, a digital cousin of the Ocean’s 11 concept and a heist film born out of a new generation never having to leave their bedrooms to pull off the big steal and — hopefully — elude capture. For my money, this is hands down the best Screenlife movie yet, a dazzling marriage of online skill, clever storytelling, brilliant editing and acting within the confines of your computer screen that rivals the best of any heist film in recent years. This format is an ideal fit and takes the concept to new levels.
Plotwise, four teens who grew up with technology and like to fool around on their laptops invading various verboten sites and having a great time doing it one day happen upon a bright idea. Watching videos of who seems at first a vapid influencer named Lindsey Heard (Jessica Reynolds), but who inadvertently blabs a bit too much about her notorious billionaire father Don Heard’s (Charlie Creed-Miles) business in cryptocurrency, sets off a light bulb for de facto leader Kyle (Georgie Farmer), and buddies Syd (Roman Hayeck Green), Petey (James Scholz) and Alex (Yasmin Finley). Why not hack into Heard’s cryptocurrency wallet and grab some riches of their own in the new easy-money frontier of crypto?
Amazingly the plan actually works and they find themselves sitting on a modest goldmine after the successful hack. However, when a video call comes through from none other than Lindsey, panic sets in. Have they been caught? Lindsey wasn’t as dumb as they thought and could see what these amateur hackers were up to all along. Surprisingly though, she actually wants in on the action as a form of retribution against her shady father, and in opening up the door to millions more than they could have ever imagined, this quartet-turned-quintet sets off on one of the biggest heists of all time without ever setting foot outside their bedrooms — well, all except the girls, but you will have to see the film to avoid any spoiler alerts from this point on.
Suffice to say this movie is as ingeniously devised as the concept of the group’s heist. It is also edge-of-your-seat, uber-suspenseful as all get-out. Hitchcock would have loved this beyond, given the sheer technical wizardry and skill of debuting 27-year-old Irish director Ronan Corrigan, who was plucked from a Black List-style program Bekmambetov founded called Screenlifers, designed to help emerging filmmakers in the format. The belief in Corrigan’s directorial savvy, as well as in his writing (Hope Elliott Kemp collaborated with him on the screenplay) pays off, as does the casting with all four Gen Z leads creating distinct personalities that give them three-dimensionality even without all the tools actors in more conventional film formats enjoy. Reynolds is also a highlight as Lindsey, and Creed-Miles as her chilling father also fits the bill.
On every level the crafts team is aces, with special shout-out to editing by Corrigan and Aleksandr Kleksov, the latter also a producer with Bekmambetov and Joann Kushner. The score from Liam Brown (aka Two Blinks, I Love You) also contributes mightily to the heightened action and hyper-mood of the film.
LifeHack is seeking distribution. It shouldn’t have a problem.
Title: LifeHack
Festival: SXSW (Narrative Spotlight)
Director: Ronan Corrigan
Screenplay: Ronan Corrigan, Hope Elliott Kemp
Cast: Georgie Farmer, Yasmin Finley, Roman Hayeck Green, James Scholz, Charlie Creed-Miles, Jessica Reynolds
Sales agent: Range Media Partners
Running time: 1 hr 36 mins