Human Theories (2026) – Review and Summary | Tribeca Film Festival

Human Theories feels like a new “(Insert City Name), I Love You” movie, as it explores a multitude of loosely connected stories set in NYC.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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“Human Theories” Film Details

Movie Summary

Human Theories focuses on the lives of people who mostly seem to be in their 20s and 30s, living in New York City. You get stories focused on friendships, relationships, trying to find love, and people who should have never gotten the opportunity to have sex. Alongside experiences that might be familiar to you, and perhaps be things you’ve never seen on the big screen before.

Review and Commentary

Highlight(s)

Each Scenario Draws You In And Makes You Want More [85/100]

There are “40 interconnected vignettes,” according to the press notes, of which the majority are either relatable, hilarious, or a touch awkward, and nearly every story will trigger a memory, a reaction, or a laugh. Sometimes all three.

In fact, as there is this vibe that everyone could be loosely connected, it makes you hope everything will loop around, and we’re going to focus on a certain number of people. For whether it is the roommate from hell, or the Black girl with a boyfriend who makes weird moans when they make out, you don’t want any situation to be one and done. You need background, you need to know what happened next, and just getting a glimpse of what anyone’s life is like will not be enough.

On The Fence

Nothing Really Anchors The Movie [75/100]

Human Theories is such an anomaly for a feature film. There aren’t storylines that everything is building up to, there isn’t a character at the center of it all, and even in terms of how these characters are connected, the film is inconsistent in making it clear how we got from one story to the next. Sometimes it is one character from a scene hands off the baton to another, or maybe they are dealing with the same theme, thus the connection.

However, other times it can be completely random, and you’re trying to fathom how the last scenario connects to the one you’re watching. How do street performers relate to two people watching a Q&A with someone talking so loudly they can’t hear the interview?

Depending on who you are, this can make for a fun game as you try to figure out how things are connected. But, it can also make for a frustrating experience, for as noted above, there are some storylines you don’t want to just pop in for but get to live in. Yet, outside of one or two characters, everyone else, if they are lucky, gets an establishment and a hand-off scene – and that’s that.

Oh, and also, outside of three or so characters, you’d be hard-pressed to even grasp the name of anyone.

Overall

Our Rating (80/100): Positive (Worth Seeing)

Human Theories feels like a take on the Cities of Love franchise, by revisiting New York City, removing the big-name actors, and presenting real stories that don’t always end with people feeling loved or being in love. Sometimes it is just a story to tell, a memory to share, and a lesson you hopefully don’t have to repeat.

And honestly, if you look at it from the lens of doing something like the Cities of Love franchise as opposed to loosely connected shorts, it deepens your appreciation for how it depicts the lives and experiences of Millennials, and maybe some Gen-Z, in NYC.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.