Parts Per Billion

Plot synopsis:
Erik, a struggling musician who lives off his family's considerable wealth, clashes with his girlfriend, Anna, over what they know are trivial details in their relationship. Apprehensive after watching news reports of increasing conflict in the Middle East, Anna comes to believe that they should spend more time together, but Erik seems preoccupied with music composition and maintaining friendly relations with his ex-girlfriends. At the same time, Len and Mia, a married couple, experience trouble in their own relationship. Len, a depressed and unemployed writer, struggles to find direction in his life. He confesses to his sister, a nurse named Sarah, that he has taken his wife, Mia, for granted until recently. Mia, an accomplished lawyer, has just successfully represented Andy, a scientist of some renown, from accusations of selling trade secrets to a research facility in the 1970s. Anna, worried about visions that she has had recently of a looming apocalypse that involve a young girl, confides in Rick, Len's best friend, that she fears she may be suffering from schizophrenia.
Andy, Erik's grandfather, insists that he take more money, but Erik refuses, as he wants to prove that he can make it on his own. Misunderstanding Erik's motives, Andy accuses Erik of being too good to take his money, as it was made through the production of biological weapons. Although Andy admits that he knew that the research was likely unethical, his wife, Esther, brushes off his guilt and says that the money kept their daughter alive long enough to give birth to Eric. Meanwhile, the situation in the Middle East worsens considerably. Biological weapons are at first rumored to have been deployed, then proven. Although the United States urges calm, Europe suffers massive casualties as trade winds blow the toxins westward. Andy, aware of the worst-case scenarios, urges Sarah to take appropriate precautions when she attends to him and his wife. Sarah in turn alerts Len, who takes Mia into their basement. As panic spreads through the country following loss of contact with the East Coast, Rick attempts to purchase a survival kit. When he comes up short of money, he grabs one and begs to be given a chance for survival; the owner shoots him as a looter.
Andy and Esther survive through the use of oxygen tanks. Esther, an optimist, believes that Erik and Anna have survived somehow, but Andy, a realist, insists that they must be dead. Flashbacks interspersed with Andy's and Esther's argument show Erik and Anna playfully flirting, having sex, and celebrating the news that Anna is pregnant. The flashbacks end with the apparent deaths of both Anna and Erik as they lie in bed. Andy and Esther set out to the local hospital to recover more oxygen tanks, where they discover Sarah's body. Discouraged, Esther begins to lose the will to live, but Andy encourages her with the knowledge that they have each other. At the same time, Len and Mia debate whether they should commit suicide together. Len is hurt by Mia's admission that she failed to discourage a coworker from falling in love with her, but he argues they have real chance to survive. Mia mocks Len's "Adam and Eve" scenario where they rebuild civilization, but Len begs her to stay with him; Mia tearfully pauses on the basement stairs. In the final scene, the young girl that Anna saw in her visions earlier is depicted finding Anna's ring and showing it to her mother.

Tags: suspenseful, flashback

Review:
Parts Per Billion follows the intertwined stories of three couples at different stages in their lives who are dealing with their relationships during a time of global crisis.
This is a relationship movie, through and through.It's no surprise that the cast is terrific, and do the best with what they have to work with.
Whatever faults may exist, the writers and cast create believable and interesting characters.
The non-linear nature of the story -- the scenes jump from couple to couple and from time to time -- can be a tad confusing at times, but it was probably necessary to provide a feeling that something is happening.
For this reason, the film wastes the whole concept of impending doom and leaves us dealing with normal couples dealing with normal issues.Perhaps it was the director's intent to show how we get so swept up in our own personal affairs that we can't see the big picture, but it just seems to me to be a waste of a good premise.
This movie is not sci-fi and it's not an end of the world disaster movie as the title seems to suggest.
I think its abysmal rating is because people are going into it thinking it's a certain kind of end of the world, doom and destruction movie and then they find out it's not that at all.
This is a romance/drama film that tries its darnedest to be deep.
So if you're into that sort of style, plotting and character driven storytelling you'll almost definitely like this.
"Parts Per Billion" is a film written and directed by Brian Horiuchi.
However, it's also one of the most depressing films you could ever watch and I don't think most folks would want to see a film quite like this—especially since it seems very obvious where all this is headed.When the film begins, you learn that some sort of biological weapon was unleashed in the Middle East.
Soon, folks in that part of the world start dropping dead and it seems like the weapon will spare no one in the immediate area.
However, when the effects start spreading globally, it seems like perhaps no one will be left alive.
Naturally, these scenarios are depressing and the film keeps cutting back from one story to the next.The film stars a few famous folks—with some really nice performances by veteran actors Frank Langella and Gena Rowlands as well as Josh Hartnett and Rosario Dawson (among others).
The direction is also good, though in a few scenes I was annoyed by a modern filming technique which I think is way overused—the unsteady cam (it can make you nauseous if you see too much of this on the big screen).
But the combination of the music, writing, acting and director's touch is quite good.I am going to make this review rather short.
Suffice to say if you like Robin Cook stories about pandemics, then you'll probably enjoy "Parts Per Billion" (well, enjoy might not be the right word for this).
Good movie with a very good cast but it is really depressing so you must be in the mood for it.
When's the last time we heard anything other then birds?" After a man made virus escapes the entire world is threatened.
The fast moving and fast acting bug is bringing about the end of the world with no hope for a cure.
Even though their stories and experiences are different they realize that life revolves around one thing, love.
For some reason ideas and plots for movies seem to come in clumps and no matter what they get made back to back to back.
All of them have their good qualities but like so many copy cat movies they are never as good as the original.
Overall, good movie with a very good cast but it is very depressing so you must be in the mood for it.
I never write reviews on movies, but I just had to for this, to prevent anyone else watching this pile of garbage and going through the torture and torment I did.This is one of the, if not thee worst movie I have ever seen.
Even with a decent cast and good acting it still couldn't help this movie .
It was almost like someone shot all the scenes of a movie, shuffled them and linked them altogether.
I was just so confused as to why the actors agreed to such a shambles of a movie.PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS MOVIE.
Brian Horiuchi's "Parts per Billion" is about rising chaos as trade winds blow toxins from the Middle East westward, but the focus is on the characters and how they try to get on with their lives amid the disorder.
I interpret this to mean that the movie's gist is that we have to avoid giving into sheer hysteria when something bad happens.
As for the movie itself, most of it came across as a little slow.
I did think that "Outbreak" (which emphasized the biology) and "Contagion" (which depicted the government agencies as competent*) were better.*This is in stark contrast to the movies that portray the rugged individual saving the day..
I have seen many of the, "End of the World" scenarios played out, of late.
This one takes a more intimate approach then many, closer in spirit to movies like, "Melancholia" which only hinted at the global repercussions.
It's all here folks, the love and the tears, the hopes and the fears, only in the end to seem pathetic and meaningless.
The actors took their parts in earnest, the film was capably shot, with good production values, The music was marginal, pared down to suit the action.
last word, Yeah, it was a depressingly serious little movie..
While the movie is well acted, it is a bitter disappointment.
If there had been some suggestion that another planet had been discovered and only a short time was left until that earth would be obliterated by it, then it would worthy of a much better rating..
So sad, that this movie has not hit the theater screens and has only been released as a DVD/Blu-Ray disc.So sad, that too many Hollywood consumers have lost their souls to big money sci-fi flicks.
It's a billion times better than 1995's Outbreak.For a first movie of his own, Brian Horiuchi is signing a masterpiece that so many people will not see, because it's a true UFO in the Hollywood jungle."They are unripe and only fit for green boys." says Jean de La Fontaine in 'The Fox and the Grapes' fable, quoting a stupid fox unable to reach his meal, only capable of complaining and moaning.Like Threads, the 1984 BAFTA award-winning BBC television drama, Parts Per Billion provides a highly depressing experience.
Though, Horiuchi makes it a bit less straightforward, less graphic, and chooses to focus more on the relationships between human beings, like in Melancholia (2011).
Though they are chosen ones, they look like simple and common individuals with valid, simple thoughts, but also so living, so unique, and so exceptional beings.The characters do express genuine sincerity like in François Truffaut and Wim Wenders' movies.
And I hope it's not Brian Horiuchi's last movie despite a likely loss of cash.
We need independent directors to remind us that intelligent cinema is still alive, and really enjoy their movies..
I kept watching thinking surely this movie would develop and do something other than bad mush.
It would be impossible to write a spoiler for this movie since something would need to happen to spoil.
there are several couples in the film, and they tell each other how much they love each other, over and over again, for one and a half hours.
The lines are pretty poor, they attempt to sound really deep and meaningful, but in reality, if you have seen a film about couples in love, you will have heard all the same garbage before.
It includes lines such as, I love you, I have never met anyone like you, I'm so lucky to have you, I never want to lose you.
A subtle, mature, end of time love story..
A strangely compelling, end of world tale, that could easily have gone astray but did not, due to the intimacy of the relationships told through exquisite writing and performances.
An utter failure at meeting the expectations of a nine-year-old secretly watching the sci-fi movie mommy and daddy have been talking about.
This one is just in case you didn't get into a laughing fit when reading it; after all the humor isn't that clear if you haven't watched the movie yet.
The only thing that did bother me a bit when watching the movie was that the cinematography was rather ordinary and it wouldn't have hurt to let the nine-year-old suffer through another ten to twenty minutes of character development.
So the movie may not accompany me throughout my life, but it contained/was a compilation of the most believable and intimate interactions between loving people on screen that I've seen in a long time.
The eradication of a majority of humanity would not be a spectacle to be gazed at, mesmerizing.Anyways, have fun watching this fine movie!.
The ending was so incomplete you might think that they all just decided to call it quits and walked off the set.It was an interesting premise, the status of relationships against the backdrop of a global health crisis.
The movie you wish had a happy ending but didn't.
"Parts per Billion" is that movie where you see the characters and can't help but like them because they are spectacularly flawed.
It is also the movie that you pray that there will be a happy ending but there isn't.The film follows 3 couples as they are faced with the reality of a biological weapon which is killing the human race.
This couple seem to hold a lot of the films focus as they are at the beginning of their marriage while the others represent the middle and end.
The young couple are seen from the moment of their engagement to the woman telling her fiancé she is pregnant.
While we see where the others are from the beginning we do not see the couple.The film leaves you feeling very depressed as you are left not knowing if the lawyer gives up and runs outside before the 8 days are up or if the old couple died because they could not find anymore oxygen.
One thing we do find is that the young couple died in each others arms shortly after she told her fiancé she was pregnant.
AS one can imagine this was a heartbreaking discovery and makes the watcher feel depressed as you couldn't help but hope that they lived and were happy.All in all it was a good film which unfortunately will not get the attention it deserves..
As a consequence, some terrible bioweapon blows all over the United States from the Middle East, and 3 couples try to use the power of love...
Apparently love doesn't conquer all, as all 3 couples give up and presumably succumb to the mysterious pandemic.Props to the director for filming in Detroit, which already looks like an apocalyptic wasteland.
Wonder if the bodies in the street were extras or if the crew found them there?You would be better served by reading the label from a bottle of Dr. Bronner's soap (the one that the characters read from - "Dilute!
Totally disjointed movie and the acting is only to remind you that its a talky.
From beginning to end you will find a continuous disconnect in a script that finds you trying to figure out if your are watching previews of multiple movies with different genres.
The movie is so involved with the relationships that the only attachment to whats going on seems to be shrouded by annoying stereotypical banter.
The only thing more thrilling than the end credits was some meaningful attempt by some of the actors to try to make a horrid script, at least for their part, a more connected journey.
Granted there may be a lot of horrible films out there, but avoiding this one will give you more time to catch the latest G O T!!.
bad movie.
I watch 2 or 3 movies per day in my free time and this was probably the worst movie I have seen in over a year..
Movie was extremely suspenseful, but the end just died out and left you hanging..
I thought josh hartnett scenes were really good but you don't even know what happens to him and his wife at the end..
Also would have liked to seen what happened to the old couple.
Everyone wants to know an ending so producers should put them in every movie.
A film I couldn't wait to end it was so slow and non eventful.
The script was minimal,there were no noticeable transitions to the flashbacks and most of the characters acted as if they had no idea what was happening.This was an example of good well known actors roped into what was supposed to be a modern day version of On the Beach, but without any of the tension, dialog and story.
Rather than engaging in pointless flashbacks, more attention should have been paid to the worldwide disaster unfolding.Parts Per Billion illustrates why many low budget films never get shown widely...the script was lousy and production values mediocre..
The type of film which spreads its focus so thin that it becomes hard to get into the story or attached to the characters..
With the familiar faces of Teresa Palmer, Penn Badgley, Rosario Dawson, Josh Hartnett, as well as Frank Langella, you must admit this seems like an interesting collective for a film.
But, the question is, with a limited amount of time before a major portion of the Earth's population being wiped out, will the film lead you to care about three sets of people?Characters & StoryThings begin with us being presented what in any other film would be the introduction to a love story.
Young Anna (Teresa Palmer) and Erik (Penn Badgley) live in this cute house together, seem barely into their adult years, and yet are helplessly in love.
Something which increasingly is becoming an issue as he seeks to establish himself as a musician.Though Andy likes giving his grandson money, especially considering his money, which is in millions, was gained through dirty business deals.
For while Erik can spend his days with his girlfriend and write songs, Len seems to be someone who may have been big at one point and time, but now is broke, jealous of his wife Mia, and has only his sister Sarah (Alexis Bledel) and friend Rick (Hill Harper) to vent to.And all together we watch these characters deal with a bioweapon attack which happens in western Asia, with its effects spreading, despite wind currents, across Europe and then to the United States.PraiseIf you focus on each of the three sets of stories, you can see a full length movie within itself.
Like the story between Anna and Erik could easily be combined with Andy and Esther and make a quality and cohesive film.
I say this because, like most films which try to spread its focus this thin, you never feel like you can truly get into the characters for your attention quickly gets snatched away as they move the focus to develop another set of characters.
Which bugged me because not only was it not in order, but there was no notification so that you knew what the time-line is for when certain events happen.
And while details like that may not seem major to most, but when you are switching between sets of characters with the time period shifting, it does have the potential to confuse you.
Also, considering the significant moments which Palmer, Badgley, Langella and Rowlands have, not presenting a chronological order, or at least informing you of the time period, does slightly weaken the overall story, as well as make it a bit more difficult to get the emotions from the actors and take it in.Overall: TV ViewingTo me, this film is the prime example why splitting the focus between 3, or more, sets of characters should be avoided whenever possible.
It leaves you wanting more when you really shouldn't have to, and you can always find one set, or one character's story, which is weak enough that you wished it was simply cut to accommodate the more focused on characters.
The background for the film is that someone in the Mideast releases an airborne pathogen that kills people on contact and is traveling in the northern hemisphere from east to west, i.e. against the prevailing winds.
I know of no such biological agent and I can't imagine the controls it would take to develop one or why one would do so.That said, this fact was fairly immaterial to the film.
This is another end of the world film that is about relationships more than the science.
In fact it is so filled with metaphors and overt about it, that it lessened the effect.We have a guitar pic that looks like an explosion in it.We have a discussion about cleaning a dish as being a metaphor for a relationship.We have the Trilobite discussion as there were once billions, now they are scarce.
it's people!!!"The whole theme of the film, in case you couldn't grasp it, is read by Anna (Teresa Palmer) off a shampoo bottle near the end.The characters are not really that exciting.
It has three couples to follow and does so in part as a flash back making the film a bit confusing, perhaps by design.
In my opinion, this movie is a contender for one of the worse movies I've ever scene.
The acting is not that good and the director must have been inexperienced.