Synchronic (2020) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Synchronic is set in New Orleans, Louisiana. The city serves as the film's atmospheric ground, with its dense, music-filled streets, riverfront, cemeteries, and vibrant cultural tapestry providing the backdrop for the story. New Orleans, known for its historic architecture and blend of revelry and danger, creates an apt stage for a sci-fi thriller about memory and history.

Foreshadowing: The city's rich historical layers later become literal portals through time travel.

• new orleans
• louisiana
• setting
• location
• city

The main narrative unfolds in the present day (21st century), but the film's time-travel element transports characters to various historical eras of Louisiana's past, including the colonial era and the Battle of New Orleans. The story juxtaposes modern life in New Orleans with these radically different historical moments.

Foreshadowing: The present-day investigation leads Steve to discover time anchors connected to Louisiana's past.

• time period
• present day
• historical eras
• 21st century

Synchronic is a dangerous new drug that allows users to travel through time. The drug lets its users jump to different eras by anchoring to objects, the destination and duration depend on the age and nature of the object. It appears as a alluring but deadly substance that promises control but exacts a heavy price in health and ethics.

Foreshadowing: The drug's time-jump effects first manifest as bizarre incidents that Steve and Dennis investigate as paramedics.

• synchronic drug
• time travel
• drug
• time jump

Time travel in Synchronic works through the drug, which anchors travelers to objects, travelers jump to the era when the anchor object was created. The experience varies by age, location, and the specific object used. Each jump through time alters relationships and fate, showing time travel as both a possibility and a burden.

Foreshadowing: Steve discovers the rules of time travel gradually through repeated experimentation with the drug.

• time travel mechanics
• time jumps
• time paradox
• temporal rules

Synchronic explores three major themes: time travel as both possibility and burden, the human cost of addiction and the lure of easy fixes, and the enduring strength of family bonds under strain. The film examines how tampering with time creates unintended consequences, how addiction threatens judgment and relationships, and how family love persists even under extreme pressure.

Foreshadowing: These themes converge as Steve's illness, Brianna's disappearance, and his time travel experiments force difficult sacrifices.

• themes
• time travel
• addiction
• family bonds
• meaning

The film uses the drug Synchronic as a metaphor for addiction, depicting it as a dangerous and alluring force that promises control but exacts a price in health and ethics. Steve's cancer diagnosis and painkiller use ground the story in the real-world cost of addiction, showing how the lure of easy fixes threatens personal judgment and relationships.

Foreshadowing: Steve's declining health from cancer mirrors the deterioration caused by his dependence on the drug.

• addiction
• cancer
• painkillers
• substance abuse
• dependency

Synchronic centers on the fragile ties between Steve, Dennis, and Brianna, showing how familial love persists under strain. Dennis's jealousy and later reconciliation with Steve demonstrate how fear and misjudgment can fracture trust, while Brianna's disappearance becomes a test of parental devotion. The ending emphasizes connection and shared memory over individual triumph.

Foreshadowing: Steve's willingness to sacrifice for Brianna ultimately redefines family as a source of strength.

• family
• bonds
• relationships
• love
• sacrifice

New Orleans is integral to Synchronic beyond just being a setting, its cultural tapestry, historic neighborhoods, and paradoxical nature mirror the film's exploration of memory and history. The city's past and present anchor the time-travel moments, with various locations serving as portals to different eras. New Orleans embodies the story's themes of paradoxes where revelry and danger mingle.

Foreshadowing: Specific locations throughout the city become connected to time anchors Steve discovers.

• new orleans
• culture
• history
• locations
• setting importance

Steve (played by Anthony Mackie) is a charismatic but flawed New Orleans paramedic whose hard-partying persona masks a growing medical crisis. After a contaminated needle reveals aggressive cancer in his pineal gland, he pursues the drug Synchronic to uncover the truth behind time-jump effects. His deep loyalty to Brianna and willingness to sacrifice for others drives the story's emotional core.

Foreshadowing: Steve's bold curiosity and stubbornness lead him to push the limits of Synchronic despite deteriorating health.

• steve
• anthony mackie
• paramedic
• cancer
• protagonist

Dennis (played by Jamie Dornan) is Steve's devoted partner and fellow paramedic whose own life is unsettled by a collapsing marriage and a protective stance toward his daughter Brianna. He initially misreads Steve's illness and behavior as addiction, leading to conflict. His relationship with Brianna motivates him to seek truth and safety, and by the end, he reconciles with Steve and supports her return.

Foreshadowing: Dennis's jealousy and misunderstanding of Steve's condition creates tension that later resolves.

• dennis
• jamie dornan
• paramedic
• partner
• brianna's father

Brianna is Dennis's teenage daughter whose disappearance becomes the emotional catalyst for the entire story. Her vanishing drives both Steve and Dennis to push the limits of Synchronic and chase answers through time. While her fate remains unsettled for much of the film, her absence anchors the stakes for both men and propels a reevaluation of what family means.

Foreshadowing: Brianna's disappearance is connected to the time-travel effects of the drug.

• brianna
• daughter
• missing
• disappearance
• teenage