Year: 2012
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Writers: Derek Connolly
"Darius is a young intern at a Seattle-based magazine and jumps at the chance to investigate the author of a classified ad seeking someone to travel back in time with. Along with Jeff, the staff writer, and Arnau, a fellow intern, the three go on a road trip to a coastal town. While Jeff just wants to chase after his high school crush and Arnau wants some kind of life experience, Darius spends her time with Kenneth, a man who believes that he has built a time machine. The closer they become and the more they understand about each other, the less clear it becomes if Kenneth is just crazy or if he actually is going to successfully travel back in time."
- Summary written by napierslogs
I hadn't actually even heard of this film before, so when I found out it was made in 2012, that was quite a surprise. I thought it was newer. Anyway, once again I found myself bored and wondering what to watch. This one had been on the front page all week, so I decided to watch it, because the plot summary on Netflix seemed amazing. But the actual plot turned out to be much interesting.
First of all, why is the story so interesting? It has that same kind of thing that Birdman has: is he or isn't he? In both cases, "is he delusional or not?" In Birdman it is "Does he really have superpowers?" while in Safety Not Guaranteed it is "Does he really know how to travel in time?" It's so amazing when the writers can play with the viewers mind, make them think it is real, then make them think it isn't, is, isn't... That's really effective. That makes you want to see the whole film, even if just to find out how it really is. One other thing that makes the plot interesting is time travel. It's one of the greatest things in fiction, because there are so many rules and all.
The characters are also interesting. Most of them have depth, very interesting depths and different depths, which is very important. If every character just has the similar kind of depth, like tragic childhood, it's not really depth of character, it feels more like just a spice. From most of the character you can figure something out, but what really made me think was Jeff. He seems like the least deep character, and his character still has the most fascinating twist. He seems like a shallow character, but has a moment of sensitivity, vulnerability, but is let down, and it really gets to him. It gives the character something else, while most of the character stay pretty much the same, something just is revealed from them.
The cinematography is amazing. It kind of reminds me of Wes Anderson's films. To be honest, I didn't pay attention towards the end, because the plot started to interest me more than the techniques, but at the start the cinematography is almost playful.
The music is also well chosen. It is mostly light, except when it needs to be something else. It works very well with the scenes.
One of my favourite thing is how there were scenes that make you feel so good, and it doesn't feel forced. The film-makers have really done such authentic, nice scenes, and you just want the movie to stay that way, but of course it doesn't, unless it is the end, Stories need conflict, but it's so refreshing to have scenes, that are bonafide, and not just typical Hollywood wank.
In short, should you watch this movie? Yes, you should. It's light and deep, it has interesting story and amazing cinematography and music. It might not be perfect, but it doesn't need to be. It's charming, warm and... weirdly real, in all of its surrealism.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
9 / 10
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