Opens in Australia: No release as yet
I'm championing this film because I'm an independent author, just like the filmmakers of Time Lapse are independent filmmakers. When you are out there on your own, sometimes, just knowing that there are a few people that really get what you are doing, gives you such a boost. I've had that thrill with wonderful reviews for my books from complete strangers, and so I like to pay it forward. I apologise ahead of time that I am going to whet your appetite for a film that you may not be able to easily catch at your local cinema. Time Lapse is doing the rounds of the international film festivals, so if you are lucky enough to have it in your city, DO NOT MISS IT. Otherwise, go to your local cinema and ask them when it is showing and they may contact the distributors and see if they can get a cinema release. Now to the review...
USA: 27th August, 2014 (Portland International Film Festival)
UK:No Release as yet.
UK:No Release as yet.
I'm championing this film because I'm an independent author, just like the filmmakers of Time Lapse are independent filmmakers. When you are out there on your own, sometimes, just knowing that there are a few people that really get what you are doing, gives you such a boost. I've had that thrill with wonderful reviews for my books from complete strangers, and so I like to pay it forward. I apologise ahead of time that I am going to whet your appetite for a film that you may not be able to easily catch at your local cinema. Time Lapse is doing the rounds of the international film festivals, so if you are lucky enough to have it in your city, DO NOT MISS IT. Otherwise, go to your local cinema and ask them when it is showing and they may contact the distributors and see if they can get a cinema release. Now to the review...
Time slip is one of the toughest genres to pull off. There are so many tropes around this sci-fi sub-genre that writers can easily fall into a plot-hole black hole from which their story cannot return, and they will be criticized for its implausibility. Time travel is implausible, but it holds so much opportunity if written right that we are happy to go along for the ride. Usually, though, the studios worry little about these issues when it comes to the latest science fiction offerings, casting mega-stars, spending a fortune on special effects, and little on the script. Then they blitz with a twelve month pre-launch marketing campaign, and we go along expecting “wow” and, instead, receive “woe” for our box-office dollar.
So you wouldn’t expect that a small indie release would blow you away with its script and originality, but that is exactly what happened at the Revelation Film Festival in Perth, Australia when viewing Time Lapse, a film directed by Bradley King and produced by BP Cooper, both of whom wrote the script. Think classics like Memento, Triangle, and Donnie Darko, where the story twists your mind with its complexity, and the minute you’ve finished you want to rewatch to spot the clues. Time Lapse is currently doing the rounds of film festivals, and winning awards at them. It may not be at your local cinema yet, but keep looking and asking for it.
Three friends (Danielle Panabaker, George Finn, Matt O'Leary), living in and managing an apartment complex, stumble upon a strange machine in a mysterious neighbor’s home. It’s pointed at their large living room window, and they realize that, somehow, it takes photos 24 hours into the future exactly at 8pm. Posted around the machine’s room are hundreds of photos of them. Initially, the machine provides a prosperous opportunity as they send messages, to their 24 hour earlier selves, on horse race winners. However, things turn dark and sinister quickly when they start to believe that they need to perfectly recreate the scene in the photograph the following day or face dangerous consequences and possibly death.
It’s one of those films that you wish would go on forever. With each new photograph revealed, you’re thinking—just like the characters—what’s the story behind the photo? What’s going to happen in 24 hours to make it come true?
First time director, King, and co-writer Cooper have produced a well-imagined film and worked wonders with a small set and budget. Keep an eye on these two. Something tells me we will be seeing big things from them in the future. Do not miss this film when it comes to your local theatre. It’s a science fiction classic gem.
