Wow, just WOW!
What an amazing experience! A choose your own adventure sort of movie, each decision you make is remembered, able to be replayed through...I'm not sure how they were able to do this, but it was meta as hell on a couple different levels.
I couldn't say how comprehensive the various story lines are and to how many different conclusions they may have led to, but I was satisfied enough with the ending I got that I ended up sitting in silence for a couple minutes while the credits played, absorbing it.
As for the story itself...it does well at keeping you interested, at keeping you guessing. I wasn't sure about it the first few minutes, but quickly became so engrossed that I realized at one point that I'd been fighting a losing battle with my bladder for quite awhile and that it was time to throw in the towel.
To be completely honest though, when all is said and done, I'm not exactly sure I understand the true reality of what I'd seen here. What exactly this movie is about. Is this a sci-fi, time travelling flick, is it about mental illness? I'm guessing the latter but JUST finished watching so haven't had much time to think on it, but I CAN say that there was more than enough entertainment value here to be okay with finding out that its all been purposely left open for interpretation.
Just as likely? I'm completely wrong, the implications were clear as day and I just missed them...it flew right over my head.
Spoilers, kinda:
This reminds me of a computer game from almost a decade ago (I forget its name) that's based on its protagonist realizing he has no free will, that he's being controlled. As the player, we eventually realize this too, given the limited amount of options we're able to choose from in order to control said said protagonist. So both the character and the player are led to realize through the game-play that our free-will is an illusion, that in fact, we're both being strictly controlled through the limitations of the game's coding.
And this is the kind of meta note this movie seems to strike. In reading IMDB reviews before watching it, many people seemed of the mind that this is likely to be the future of entertainment, which sure, that could very well be true. However, what I saw seemed much more a study of that future than an example of it.
There's a difference between 'choose your own adventure' storytelling and a movie that explores the meta nature of such entertainment.
Which is what makes this movie a pioneer in more ways than one, and an absolute must-see IMO.
By the way, you'll know it when you see it. Definitely choose, "Fuck yeah". I about fell out of my chair laughing here.