When I first learned of this film, without looking at any important information that might explain what it was about, I thought I might just be viewing a documentary about wildlife and the desperate situation our hummingbirds of the earth now face, due to our collective, wasteful use of natural resources and so forth. Nothing could be further from reality, though, and I have to say that I was not displeased; no offense to well-meaning documentaries and the like.

Instead, director Kim Nguyen (“Eye of Juliet”), who also wrote the screenplay for the movie, has embarked on a project concerning the conjunction between those who work in the stock market and the perpetual advancements of progressive technology. If this premise does not make much sense at first, just pay attention, as you watch, for a little while and that should change things for you. As you can probably imagine, this is not a typical subject for a supposed “dramatic thriller,” but low and behold, Nguyen has boldly undertaken the challenge of making this an engaging and entertaining story and as we all know: without any risks there are very few rewards.

Atop the cast is a strong lineup of varying generations: Jesse Eisenberg (“Justice League”) as Vincent Zaleski, Alexander Skarsgard (“The Legend of Tarzan”) as Anton Zaleski and Salma Hayek (“The Hitman’s Bodyguard”) as Eva Torres. Eisenberg and Skarsgard have their share of moments apart and together, but Hayek has virtually no screen time on her own.

At first, I thought, about Eisenberg, “He seems to play the same guy in almost every movie he makes.” However, as the story unfolded, I found myself thinking, “This is one of the strongest performances I have seen in Eisenberg’s career.” His line deliveries are still what you would expect, but he displayed sympathetic emotions in ways I have not seen too often from him, over the years. Skarsgard’s character was probably the most fascinating and entertaining of the film. He rarely needed to utter any lines. You could get his mood and inner thoughts just by reading his eyes. Occasionally, he would have emotional outbursts and they would serve as either strangely comedic or poignantly relatable, if that makes any sense. Hayek had her best moments when she was dominating another character, especially that of Anton. One scene, in particular, involving a filled tub and an otherwise empty room, was especially effective and, almost, dreamlike in nature.

The rest of the cast is comprised of (among others): Michael Mando (“Spider-Man: Homecoming”) as Mark Vega, Johan Heldenbergh (“The Zookeeper’s Wife”) as Amish Elder and Kwasi Songui as Ray Engineer.

Mando did his best to keep up with the likes of Eisenberg and Skarsgard and more than held his own. Although his character did not have as much room or opportunity for depth, there was a certain realism he brought to the role, which was proper for emotional stability in specific portions of the story. Much like Skarsgard, he allowed his facial expressions to handle much of the acting, though I have to admit, he easily had the best-written material, in terms of entertaining dialogues and monologues, in the script. As for Heldenbergh, his performance was spot-on and effective, despite very little time on screen. He made me wonder what he might have studied or researched, in order to capture the mindset and interactions one would expect to see from a man of the Amish community. Songui, also, had little screen time, but made his presence felt as a person of the “blue-collar” industry and lifeline. It all makes sense, because if we are seeing the vast majority of the movie through the eyes of those at the top of the pyramid, how often would we really see those of the so-called “bottom” stack in that very same pyramid?

The approach of the film is pretty objective. There are almost no hints at anything biased, socially or politically, and that has to be respected, these days. At the end of the day, businesses are filled with people, even if we mostly tend to see those businesses as nothing more than some inanimate billboard or sign, attached to a towering skyscraper or flashing at us from the freeway. In Vincent, we have the chance to see real humanity in the midst of some rather inhumane actions. He has big ambitions and priorities, but he also has feelings and inner turmoil. He is every bit as much of a human being as the Amish elder or a lead engineer.

“The Hummingbird Project” has terrific pacing and intriguing character and plot developments for most of the movie, but about three-quarters of the way through, things drop off, somehow. Emotions become strong and are overly dramatic in their execution. It becomes exhausting and less interesting. Still, the performances are largely memorable and the connection between the title and the basis for the technological project, in the story, is clever. I support the decision to leave things somewhat ambiguous, at the end, as well. No loose ends were truly left untied and I did not have to close the window on a totally sour or bitter note. Hopefully, this film will not be completely overlooked and positive word-of-mouth exchanges can elevate it beyond reasonable expectations. In other words, it should not become obsolete.

Director: Kim Nguyen
Screenwriter: Kim Nguyen
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Alexander Skarsgard, Salma Hayek, Michael Mando, Sarah Goldberg as Mascha, Anna Maguire as Quant Jenny, Frank Schorpion as Bryan Taylor, Johan Heldenbergh as Amish Elder, Kwasi Songui as Ray Engineer and Aiysha Issa as Ophelia Troller
Production: Item 7, Belga Productions, Automatik, HanWay Films and Telefilm Canada
Distributor: The Orchard and Elevation Pictures
Release: March 15th, 2019