As it turns out, Sam Walden (Margaret Qualley) is the daughter of a science guy who urged many people to stick it out on Earth, since it's our one and only home and it deserves to be saved. When most of mankind leaves for Io, others suffer and die on an arid, decaying world. Inevitably, Sam becomes the last woman in the world. She flip-flops on the whole issue of staying-versus-leaving, opting to join her BF in space while the Io colony explores space and finds a possible new Earth. But a visit from a stranger (Anthony Mackie) and other issues may just change her mind.
I can't deny that there's very little exciting about this picture. Not only because it's devoid of action, violence, and conflict, but because it's a premise we've already explored in better films like The Quiet Earth. What's unique to IO is, simply, the core debate over whether it's better to leave Earth for a new beginning, or stay behind to save it. I think the film's final stance is more alone the lines of why not both? I'm not entirely sure why the film ends the way it does, but I do appreciate the ambiguity.
What kept me glued to the screen, surprisingly, were the little things. Performances for one--I absolutely loved Qualley, whose emotional range, expressions, and voice brought Sam to life in a way I found genuinely touching. I wish Mackie was as nuanced. Their interactions kept the film rolling even when the plot stands still. I also have a deep admiration for the film's locales, which invoke the profound beauty and silence of the Earth. Everything else about the film is on-par with the common indie film--nice photography and editing, fair and realistic-looking production value, nice music score.
I came out of this film satisfied with the emotional resonance of the story and performances more than anything else. As slow and somber as the film is, it's best to approach IO the same way one would explore an airless ruin--with caution.
3/5
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