The best sci-fi movies reveal, through the use of fantastic
technology or futuristic scenarios, something true about the world we live in.
The best time travel movies add another element, by forcing us to consider what
we would do if given the keys to time itself. By those measures, Time Lapse is a great little sci-fi gem that
plays with time paradoxes while adding elements of a self-contained paranoia
thriller.
Like a particularly good episode of The Twilight Zone, Time
Lapse has a clear destination, a clear moral, and the path to getting there is
full of twists and turns. Essentially a three-hander, the story centers on
struggling artist Finn (Matt O'Leary); his level-headed girlfriend Callie (The
Flash's Danielle Panabaker); and gambling addict best friend, Jasper
(George Finn). Their life of living paycheck to paycheck takes a turn when
their next door neighbor's charred corpse is discovered in his home, with a
camera pointed directly at their window. On his wall are a series of photos
showing them in the living room, only to realize that one of the photos shows
an event that hasn't happened yet. The trio figure they've stumbled on a camera
that shows images from 24 hours into the future, and the dead man must have
somehow jacked up his personal timeline.
Rather than taking a hint that screwing
with time is a potentially deadly idea, they're convinced by the money-hungry
Jasper to try and use it to score some much needed cash. Using the dead man's
notes they come up with one major rule that can't be broken; they must be
perfectly in place for when the camera takes its photo, otherwise the paradox
will cause them to cease existing. The rules seem unwieldy at first, like
something that could potentially bog down the film's progress, but director and
co-writer Bradley King allows the situation to play out, gradually building the
tension as pressure mounts on them to keep up. The situation grows murkier when
Jasper's gambling becomes an issue, and his violent bookie wants to horn in on
the action. Finn becomes more obsessed with his art, thus ignoring his
relationship with Callie. When the camera ejects a photo showing her committing
an act of betrayal, it ruptures the tenuous dynamic even further.
The character interactions are the film's
strongest suit, as the actual time travel logic is a bit flimsy and doesn't
hold up under scrutiny. But you believe that these three people are close
friends with a complicated relationship, and watching the balance of power shift
between them is fascinating. Panabaker is so stiff and straight-laced on CW's The Flash that it's good to see her in a role
where she gets to be a little mysterious. There's definitely more to Callie
than meets than eye. Set basically in one cramped apartment, the modest
budget is noticeable but never a distraction. Actually, setting it one place
adds to the air of claustrophobia as the situation, and their mental states,
unravel. Maybe one day characters will learn not to mess around with the
timestream, but for now the stories of their doomed efforts will continue to
entertain us. If they're half as memorable as Time Lapse then keep them coming.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
