Director: Colin Trevorrow
Year: 2012
Country: US
Language: English
WANTED: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED.
This mysterious newspaper ad begins a film that at first glance might seem like a low brow, low budget comedy but turns out to be one of the most ambitious and touching films of the year. I was quite surprised and thrilled about how well this film played out, as time travel films usually are a hit or a miss. This is indeed a hit on many levels, including emotional. The time travel aspect of Safety Not Guaranteed is held with the utmost sensitivity. It is not used as a gimmick, nor as a joke, but a canvass in which art is made.
The ad in question that drives the film is first brought up by a writer known as Jeff (Jake Johnson) at Seattle magazine during a story conference. He is quite intrigued by it, and is determined to track down the writer of this odd add thinking that it will help him get with his high-school crush . He employs two awkward interns known as Darius (Aubrey Plaza) and Arnau (Karan Soni). When they finally find the writer, known as Kenneth (Mark Duplass) we see he is a semi-awkward person as well. Jeff thinks he's a looney, but Darius wants to know more and does. Though Jeff's ideas regarding time travel seems looney, he seems to understand them with great sincerity.
An amazing quality of Safety Not Guaranteed is the attention the writers have given in character development and dialouge. There is rarely a spoken word that does not hold importance. The film is essentially about vulnerable people in vulnerable times of their lives. Looking for love, friendship, truth and honesty. The characters really stir your soul and get you emotionally invested. Can Kenneth actually time travel? You doubt it but you really want to believe it to be true. The only other time travel film that had close to this much emotion is Back to the Future and that still missed the bar Safety Not Guaranteed has set. Another worthy note is how well time travel cliches are avoided, too often do we see the same time travel schticks in movies. This is almost in a different class.
In conclusion, Safety Not Guaranteed is one of the more emotionally intelligent films of 2012. It's a shame it's not being as advertised as many other 2012 films but I guess that's why I've decided to review this. It's high art, art that has the power to change your entire outlook on life. Can Dark Knight Rises do that? No. If you are intrigued by time travel movies but don't want to watch some dumb stoner comedy, see this film. See this film even if you aren't a fan of time travel. 2012 isn't over, but so far I can definitley say that this film will be in my top ten by the end of the year. Praise it! 4/5
No comments:
Post a Comment