The Universal Theory

Style meets even more style in Timm Kroger’s dazzling noir exercise “The Universal Theory”.

Set in post-war Switzerland of 1961, there are secret underground tunnels; a train trip through the Alps to a mysterious scientific conference about quantum physics; two professors, one with a Nazi-sympathising past; and bodies which seem to come and go – as well as a piano-playing femme fatale who knows more than she should. It is in so many ways a pastiche.

Top credit is versatile lensing, by Roland Stuprich, but Jaan Anderegg’s editing is well-attuned to his director’s intent, and the music by Diego Ramos Rodriguez is a retro delight. Cosima Vellenzer’s design is well-executed, immediately transporting us back to a world where black and white were never as clear as they are here.

(Fionnuala Halligan, Screen Daily)