Synchronic

Combining high-concept, science-fiction comedy with a gritty crime thriller proves awkward in Synchronic, an ambitious but muddled exercise in style over substance.

The latest from the filmmaking tandem of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (The Endless) is an intermittently amusing and consistently bizarre lark that overall feels too aloof and contrived to generate a deeper emotional impact.

Dennis (Jamie Dornan) and Steve (Anthony Mackie) aren’t the type of first responders you might see on reality television. Besides a love-hate relationship with one another, the two New Orleans paramedics — and longtime best friends — are enduring separate personal crises.

The adventure begins when they’re assigned to investigate a series of mysterious and gruesome late-night deaths, which they eventually link to a new hallucinatory street drug called Synchronic. At first, it’s merely an excuse to break the monotony of their daily routine.

Along the way, Dennis discovers that his teenage daughter (Ally Ioannides) is missing, and Steve receives a dire medical prognosis. The latter’s obsessive quest to rid the streets of the designer pills is layered with ulterior motives, even as Steve is unfamiliar with the otherworldly side effects.

The uneven result is quite a narrative juggling act, with a handful of disparate plot segments that only intermittently find a compelling coexistence.

Beneath the quirks in Benson’s screenplay, and the familiar buddy comedy framework, the premise doesn’t seem as clever once you put all the pieces together. The film supplements its genre elements with a parade of cryptic eccentricities that’s more head-scratching than intriguing.

As the most accessibly mainstream project yet on the directing duo’s offbeat resume, the film works best when it focuses on the two lead characters and dispenses with all of the hallucinations and quasi-scientific mumbo-jumbo.

Both portrayals are committed, with Dornan showcasing his versatility and Mackie adding depth and complexity as a conflicted family man whose idealistic curiosity tends to overwhelm his common sense.

The directors employ some visual and aural cues to add layers of discomfort, such as an intense, persistent bass line. Yet although you can appreciate a certain level of scientific and technical ingenuity in the concept, Synchronic winds up more predictable than provocative.

Rated R, 96 minutes.