The New Yorker is known for articles that highlight unique individuals whose careers or life stories are bizarre and otherwise unknown to the general public. The subjects of the documentary The Immortalists are reminiscent of these eccentric characters: two scientists determined to find a cure for aging, or in other words, a way to stop death from being inevitable. As bizarre as it may seem, there is real science to back these guys up, and over the course of the film’s runtime, they’ll both make a compelling case for what they are doing.

As intriguing and as bizarre as these characters are, the film is little more than a series of episodes related to their lives and discoveries in anti-aging. Along the way we meet their lovers, doctors, and fellow scientists, and everyone in their circle is on board with their ambitious and bizarre aspirations. The film is challenging purely because of the topic manner, as immortality is something most would not want to believe is plausible. This documentary makes anti-aging seem so simple that everyone should be on board with it, yet while watching, every instinct tells you that something isn’t right. By the time a counter argument does make an appearance, a welcome relief, it needs only a little to convince you how ludicrous these people are.

This documentary makes anti-aging seem so simple that everyone should be on board with it, yet while watching, every instinct tells you that something isn’t right.

As fascinating as the subject matter is, the documentary’s linear construction does not enhance the topic in any particular way. Plot elements are thrown in casually as they come (polygamy makes a cameo about an hour in) without being developed properly. With this subject, the film could take an existential approach and defy convention to match the unconventional subject, but instead everything is played straightforward.

To make matters worse the characters do not progress or change in any way, so we just follow them around. Even in the ending, when there is an opportunity for some real discussion on the magnitude of death (the film’s looming antagonist) it is brushed over and hastily wraps up. The Immortalists is without a doubt intriguing, but it has a long way to go to achieve the levels that contemporary documentaries are reaching.

The Immortalists is in theaters this Friday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY4LL0UAZUg