Recently, “Dark Matter,” the latest from acclaimed opera and theater director Shi-Zheng Chen, has been the fodder for controversy. Not only does the film’s plot strongly relate to the violent events at the Virginia Tech and NIU campuses, but its limited April 11 release — five days before the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings — has also been the fodder for strong contempt from academics. In fact, a Feb. 29 news article from The Collegiate Times, the independent student newspaper of Virginia Tech, quoted a university spokesperson who called the release date “pretty disgusting” and “contemptible.” But despite the film’s ability to spark conversation among individuals, “Dark Matter” ultimately fails to convey its hard-hitting message due to its lack of continuity.

“Dark Matter” tells the story of a Chinese graduate student, Liu Xing (Ye Liu, “Curse of the Golden Flower”), who arrives at an American university to study astrophysics under the acclaimed Dr. Jacob Reiser (Aidan Quinn, “Nine Days”), who he quickly impresses with his knowledge of cosmology. Seemingly destined for greatness, Xing also befriends Joanna Silver (Meryl Streep, “Lions for Lambs”), a wealthy university benefactor with a soft spot for Chinese culture. But when Xing finds flaws in Reiser’s acclaimed cosmology model and creates his own theories to improve upon his professor’s ideas, he faces certain obstacles that eventually cause his sudden downward spiral.

The film is based on the true story of Chinese physics student Gang Lu, who in 1991 shot to death five people at the University of Iowa because his doctoral dissertation did not receive an academic award.

The interweaving themes of cultural assimilation and academic politics weaved into the plot of “Dark Matter” are compelling as well as controversial. Xing is the recipient of academic rewards and praise from Reiser when he complies with what the professor requests, but when he begins to see the flaws in Reiser’s model and questions the theory that has made Reiser famous, everything begins to fall apart. Feeling threatened, Reiser passes over Liu Xing in favor of a more dutiful student who is willing to pay his dues. His dissertation is rejected, and his friends find success in their careers while Xing is left behind, his previous assumptions of science as a free market of ideas merely a memory. Watching the domino effect of Xing’s fall from grace can be somewhat mesmerizing but ultimately discouraging.

However, the film contains too many flaws to make watching it a pleasurable experience. The editing is choppy, and the film often cuts back and forth between characters and scenes with no reasonable explanation. Despite these frequent cuts, the pace for most of the film is cringingly slow. It’s so slow that it would be reasonable to presume that one could get up, use the restroom, refill the popcorn and come back to the theater without missing any key plot points.

Some viewers may be turned off by the dominance of subtitles throughout the film, while others may be turned off by the presence of acclaimed actress Meryl Streep. While her performance was good, her very presence distracts from the movie entirely. You could even say she steals the show, even if the show itself isn’t very engaging in comparison.

Despite the intense subject matter, the film’s conclusion is surprisingly anticlimactic. The shooting itself leaves very little emotional impact, as Xing appears to be the only sympathetic character by that point. For all the suspense leading up to it, the final 10 minutes of the movie build up only to a letdown. One would expect much more resolution than what is delivered.

For a story that’s engaging and mesmerizing, see the first half of the movie, then go sneak into something else. Then you might have a chance at getting your money’s worth.

“Dark Matter” opens today at Sundance Cinemas.

2 1/2 stars out of 5