Some films have simple, linear plots that are easy to follow and understand, regardless of any deeper meaning they may have. These are often referred to as comfort watches and typically include comedy and action movies. Then there are those plots that keep you guessing and can feel so confusing, yet also perfectly communicate their emotive themes throughout. The sci-fi genre is full of these. From Donnie Darko to Apple TV+’s recent shows, Severance and Pluribus, audiences love to feel more than understand.
One of these types of projects that was woefully underappreciated was 2022’s Linoleum. This sci-fi drama will not only have you laughing and crying, but also tearing your hair out at times, trying to piece together just what is going on. Yet, what you will not be confused by are the beautifully presented ideas of youth, aging, love, regret, and death. In the end, Linoleum invites its audience to live on their own terms and to freely exist in a chaotic universe.
‘Linoleum’ Balances the Surreal With the Emotive
The central premise of Linoleum is that Cameron (Jim Gaffigan) is the host of a failed children’s science show who wishes he had been an astronaut. When a rocket falls into his backyard, he decides to fulfill his dream by repairing it in order to launch himself into space. However, that is selling Linoleum far short of what it deserves, as, despite some surreal scenes, like a car dropping from the sky in the opening sequence, this is a deeply intimate family drama that masks itself as an indie sci-fi. After seeing a car fall from the sky containing a younger doppelganger of Cameron, the memorable moment is him telling his wife, Erin (Rhea Seehorn), and daughter, Nora (Katelyn Nacon), and them bluntly dismissing it. From the first couple of scenes, viewers are taught to go through the wild moments and focus on the emotional dynamics of the characters.
This is what allows Linoleum to truly explore how Cameron and those around him are at different stages of their lives. When his daughter meets a boy named Marc (Gabriel Rush) at school, she and he embark on a coming-of-age tale of navigating adolescence, while Cameron and Erin reflect on their lives, feeling they only have a short time left to make an impact. In the background, but still a key thematic aspect of Linoleum is Mac (Roger Hendricks Simon), Cameron’s dementia-stricken father, whose character reflects on how we all must eventually accept that it is not the professional legacy that matters, but the people who have made our lives special.
‘Linoleum’ Asks Whether the Universe is Rational or Chaotic
The most thought-provoking debate underlying throughout Linoleum is whether the surrounding universe is ordered or random, binary or fluid? Cynical characters such as Kent (Jim Gaffigan), Cameron’s doppelganger and nemesis, who replaces him as host of the TV show, describe the world as rational through the science show, whereas young people like Nora, Marc, and even a younger Erin believe in “entropy”; chaos. Cameron is torn between the two, as he cannot ignore how his life has felt unfulfilled, like an orderly descent into nothingness, but his quest to fix the rocket is a sign of him embracing the latter idea of the world being whatever you want it to be. When he tells Marc that it is “not that simple” to change his life, Marc gives him the spark he needs with a simple “it might be.” In the end, Linoleum is arguing that anything is possible if we simply try, even something as ridiculous as building a rocket can have the desired effect of taking back control of one’s life.
There are few films you will ever see like Linoleum. Even in the latter category of films that feel random and confusing, Linoleum stands out for its delicate and beautifully written narrative that will have you pondering not only the meaning of life, but your own agency as well. With wonderful performances from Gaffigan and Seehorn, as well as a truly wonder-inducing score, Linoleum will be a film that you think about long after watching, and you may just learn something important along the way.
Linoleum is currently streaming on Hulu and Prime.
