Caviar is a wild thriller that uses deepfake technology to tell its story. Antigone Corday (Betsey Brown, All Jacked Up and Full of Worms) is mourning the recent death of her brother Jeremiah (Al Warren). She decides to keep his social media channel going as a way of honoring him. She soon learns of a wide ranging conspiracy that will change her life.
Writer-director Jacob Michael King wrote the script during the second year of the pandemic. In particular, King was disturbed by misinformation and deepfakes. Unsurprisingly, one of the biggest draws to Caviar is the use of deepfaked characters. Since they are such a big part of the film, it is impossible not to scrutinize them. Some are very well done and have the intended impact. Hearing one prominent politician talk about sacrificing homeless children is incredibly shocking, even though a disclaimer at the opening states nothing is real.
When it does not work, it is incredibly distracting. Unfortunately, it does not take long for a familiar voice to sound off. Even worse, it happens multiple times. Since the quality varies so widely, it does make one wonder why the poorer deepfakes were kept in. That being said, since Caviar is about blurring the line between truth and misinformation, this may be completely intentional.
The deepfakes are consistently eye-catching, but it is the plot that carries Caviar. Things can get overly-political at times (those who are tired of hearing about politics all the time will hate this), but the things get increasingly suspenseful while drawing the audience in. The performances are great with King even adding elements of horror.
Caviar has a number of clever reveals that get more bonkers as things progress. What starts as a number of conversations about Presidents and wars soon includes owls and aliens. Even this slow start does not take away from the engaging plot. The film moves at a smooth pace that keeps audiences intrigued as the conspiracy gets wilder.
Caviar is available on VOD
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