• Registered: 2015-06-21
  • Posts: 799

Topic: Time Freak

Was looking through Red Box and came across a film called “Time Freak”:

https://imdb.com/title/tt6769280/

Based on the 2012 Oscar nominated short film of the same name:

https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Freak

It’s one of those movies you have to stick with for the pay off (it takes a little turn in act three that I didn’t expect), but overall I enjoyed it.  It’s a romantic comedy drama that I don’t think was described accurately in its press.  Despite his intentions, it’s not about a boy fixing a break up by using a time machine; it’s really about a boy dealing with a break up by using a time machine.

But the reason I post it here is because it had some shades of Sliders to it.  Awkward physics genius creates a time machine in a storage unit using cobbled together equipment and equations written on glass blackboards and walls (leading to the one solution circled that almost begs for a smiley face).  The time machine then ultimately controlled by a cell phone that tends to malfunction.

The genius is paired with a free spirit very much like Wade, and the story plays out how they are a really bad fit.  Then you have the everyman best friend serving as a little comic relief when he’s pulled along for the time travel ride he didn’t really want to go on.

As I watched it, I found myself plugging Quinn, Wade and Rembrandt into the roles; and that probably heightened my enjoyment of it.  It was like watching an echo of their stories playing out - especially if you throw in a dash of how Quinn behaved concerning Daelin in “As Time Goes By”.

If you’re looking for something to watch, you might want to check it out.

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
  • Posts: 4,302

Re: Time Freak

This is a pretty messed up movie! It's a great exploration of how fixing individual errors (Stillman's outbursts that drive Debbie to dump him) do not treat the underlying problem (Stillman's need to control everyone's emotions and personal experience and every interaction). I can see Wade and Rembrandt in the story, but Stillman wasn't like Quinn; Stillman was more like Derek Bond in his controlling and dominating nature. By the midpoint, Stillman has manipulated Debbie's life so thoroughly to erase any conflict or difficulty in their lives that she feels empty and emotionless -- the fate Wade dreaded in "Obsession."

I don't think Quinn would be like Stillman because Stillman is not only indifferent to free will but terrified to be alone. In contrast, Quinn has felt alone since his father died and he has no fear of solitude. Quinn knows that you can't wait for someone else to be the person that you need; you have to be the person that you need.

Stillman is a lonely, troubled sociopath whose only redeeming trait is that he recognizes his resulting life is soulless and joyless. Quinn Mallory is our hero.

(Well. Most fans hate Quinn. Haha!)