The Hummingbird Project may have the least promising premise of any film this year. Two American stock market traders decide to lay a new completely straight fibre optic cable between Kansas and New Jersey for the purpose of obtaining the market prices one millisecond faster than their competitors.
From this rather dry concept, Kim Nguyen has fashioned an excellent script that enables the film to move like a thriller for most of its running time. Jessie Eisenberg plays the brains behind the scheme, Vincent Zaleski. Basically he is playing his usual persona, but his hyper, nervous style is perfect for the part. Alexander Skarsgard is his coding genius cousin Anton and Michael Mando is the leader of the crew laying the cable. Both are fine but it is Selma Hayek as Vincent and Anton’s scheming and heartless old boss determined to sabotage their plan whilst coming up with a faster scheme of her own, who steals the show as she greedily chews the scenery.
As the film unfolds, it becomes clear that it isn’t about stock markets or making obscene amounts of money. It is about obsession, Vincent’s with finishing the cable even at the expense of his health, and Anton’s with his code. As Vince spirals out of control, I was reminded of the work of Werner Herzog, particularly Fitzcarraldo.
Unfortunately though, Nguyen is not as accomplished director as he is a writer. He deploys too many unnecessary flourishes and the film rather fizzles out as the pace flags towards the end. Despite the lackluster final 15 minutes or so, this is a movie that deserves to be seen by a wider audience than the subject matter will entice into cinemas.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10