“Descendent” proves that Ross Marquand is such a good actor that even viewers who get angry if the story has no clear resolution may overlook ambiguity because of the sincerity and emotion in his performance. Sean Bruner (Marquand) is expecting his first child with his wife, Andrea (Sarah Bolger), but an accident at work throws him off course and makes him and everyone around him doubt whether he will be able to be there for his family. What will lead him back to life before the accident?

Marquand establishes what kind of man Sean is: a little self-important and self-absorbed, but he is ultimately sincere and well-intentioned. He wants to do a good job at being a good husband, father, brother and employee. Before the accident, it takes very little stimuli from his loved ones to course correct. When he does something insensitive, the realization of his error in his eyes is palpable, and he changes his behavior immediately. Marquand’s performance saves the character from being dismissed as the insecure bodyguard, the father-to-be trying to hijack attention from his wife or baby or a guy who is reaching the zenith of unleashing his weaponized incompetence. Sean is not that guy because Marquand reveals his heart and holds nothing back. If a genie granted wishes, I would ask that Marquand get plugged into movies that do not seem as if a better performance would redeem them—”Site” (2025)—just to see how far his powers go. He has always been a solid presence on television series, but he proves that if he is on screen for an entire movie, even as a flawed character, he has the stuff to make him likeable and steer his character between the Scylla and Charybdis without hitting any rocks. Marquand seems to have a keen grasp of the filmmaker’s vision.

You may be wondering which rocks are threatening the reception of “Descendent?” Writer and director Peter Cilella’s feature debut manages to do what a lot of movies cannot, but he is playing a dangerous game. Throughout the course of the story, Cilella teases multiple reasons for what ails Sean, and all of them seem equally plausible: childhood trauma, fear of inheriting family medical history, a childhood accident, anxiety over becoming a father, anxiety over losing his wife, the head injury from work or *dun dun * aliens. It is rare. Usually a story gets short shrifted, and it is a disguise for writer’s lack of focus, but it feels as if Cilella knows the answer, but deliberately decided not to clearly reveal it to the audience. Cilella puts the audience in Sean’s shoes, and after the accident, it is unclear if what he is experiencing is real or not. Everything does not get revealed in one prose dump, but bits and pieces come out which, with the benefit of hindsight, makes casual moments deeply significant in retrospect. Cilella may have too much faith in his prospective audience’s largesse, patience or ability to play with the possibilities without requiring definitive answers. He does not quite stick the landing, but it resonates in a realistic way. Everyone will become disabled at some point in time, and there are no answers on when it will pass, if it ever does. Sean’s questions and frustrations become everyone’s. Side note: many new fathers often begin to remember and/or recognize abuse when they have a child, and that child is the same age as they were when the abuse started.

“Descendent” also works because the casting is perfect. Sarah Bolger as Sean’s wife Andrea understands the fluidity of her character’s emotions unlike some actors who only believe in using two modes, love and anger. Because of Bolger and Marquand’s collaboration, they make it easy to root for this couple because there is real love there. When Sean begins to disassociate, lose time and fall apart, they are both concerned because he wants to be there for her, and she is understanding about his injury. It takes one hour into the movie before she expresses reasonable anger. She is more than another perfect, self-sacrificing wife, and Cilella gives her, and her sister-in-law, Laurie (Charlene Amoia), some great speeches that centers Andrea.

Also, all the male characters are recognizable three-dimensional characters. His best friend/brother, Christian (Dan O’Brien), is equal parts profane and reasonable. Marquand and O’Brien have great chemistry as people who tell each other everything and can rely on each other. It is nice to have a depiction of male friendship that is not superficial. There is also a hardware store clerk, Chuck (Martin Garcia), who gets some dialogue that sounds as if it could be uttered today and simultaneously a bit outdated like one of Stephen King’s contemporary novels, but is not a bad thing. Anytime someone takes a veiled dig at Presidon’t, it is a delight. I’m betting it was improvised since Garcia is from Puerto Rico, which will make sense once you see “Descendent.”

There is only one thorn in “Descendent”: Robin (Susan Wilder), Christian’s mother and his childhood guardian. Wilder has a Blythe Danner quality though more brittle. The movie stubbornly refuses to soften her edges. She cares for him in all the wrong ways by constantly speaking to his unspoken fear that he is just like his father. Principal Pradeep Kakkar (Parvesh Cheena), Sean’s employer, comes in second place except he is justified for his criticism. Even though Sean is introduced as an eager hard worker willing to go above and beyond it is easy to see why Kakkar does not offer any margin for error.

“Descendent” also testifies to the power of art. Even though he has a rich community, he is not in communion with himself. Art is excavating stuff that Sean may have been pushing down since he was born. The oneiric imagery brings to life Sean’s drawings and paintings. The explanation for Sean’s crisis does not matter as much as how he addresses it. Therapy seems less helpful than processing through art, but it is the place where he talks about parts of his life that he believes are irrelevant and just asks for a quick fix, but it is obvious that his family history is completely germane. His crisis is paralleled with Andrea’s, but his route to wellness is circuitous, uncertain and expensive. Cilella nails how all the characters are worried about money. Art and mental health crisis intersect because when Sean can impossibly hear someone ridiculing him, it is usually when he is visibly associating with his newfound gift.

If you absolutely hate it when movies have endings that do not cleanly resolve everything, then skip “Descendent” because Cilella’s creative choices may not be for you. If you really enjoy solid acting and an economical movie that makes a meal out of a morsel, definitely give it a shot, but be prepared to show some grace. If you are looking for a traditional alien abduction, you will be disappointed, but if you can hold that concept loosely, you will appreciate all the other qualities that this movie offers. Sci fi is the veneer to explore the characters’ emotional state without boring the audience to tears. I could not take my eyes off of it and barely took notes. If you do enjoy it, it is the kind of movie that you will want to watch repeatedly.