Timecode Review
by Akiva Gottlieb (critical66 AT yahoo DOT com)May 14th, 2000
Time Code ***1/2
rated R
97 minutes
Screen Gems
starring Xander Berkeley, Golden Brooks, Saffron Burrows, Viveka Davis, Richard Edson, Aimee Graham, Salma Hayek, Glenne Headly, Andrew Heckler, Holly Hunter, Danny Huston, Daphna Kastner, Patrick Kearney, Elizabeth Low, Kyle MacLachlan, Mia Maestro, Leslie Mann, Suzy Nakamura, Alessandro Nivola, Zuleikha Robinson, Julian Sands, Stellan Skarsgard, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Steven Weber
written and directed by Mike Figgis
A Review by Akiva Gottlieb
The tagline for “Time Code” asks the viewer: “Who will you want to watch?” Considering my expectations going in to the film, a better question would be “Why will you want to watch?” After he triumphed with the jazzy, low-budget hit “Leaving Las Vegas”, filmmaker Mike Figgis directed three dreadful films: “One Night Stand”, “Miss Julie”, and of course, “The Loss Of Sexual Innocence”, one of the most pretentious art films I have ever seen. To add salt to an oozing flesh wound, his latest film, “Time Code”, is shot on digital video and features a screen split into quadrants for the duration of its running time. In other words, I was expecting a “Blair Witch” headache to the fourth power, as directed by an elitist egomaniac. But the cinema often defies our expectations.
Films are rarely as provocative as “Time Code” is. Figgis gives us four pairs of eyes to witness a story told in real-time, on digital video, without edits and quick cuts. The plotline isn’t half as fascinating as the project itself, and the best thing is that it’s hard to care. “Time Code” tells a generic L.A. tale of sex, drugs, murder, greed and excess, but it’s a tale that the viewer puts together in his own head, which makes the film a transcendent experience for some, a vomit-inducing mind-trip for others.
I chose to watch “Time Code” as a glimpse into the future of experimental cinema. This is the film that the Danish “purist” movement Dogma 95 has wanted for years. Figgis’ film is structured in such a way that it’s impossible for the viewer not to become engrossed in the storyline, no matter how phony the improvised dialogue and rehashed storyline may seem.
He is also blessed with a cast that feels up to the challenge. Few roles are as tough as the ones Figgis provides his actors with in this landmark production. In this film, the performances must be spot-on. No cuts, no editing, no bullsh*t. Stellan Skarsgard plays a movie mogul, Saffron Burrows (Figgis’ wife) is his wife and Salma Hayek is his mistress who is engaged in a relationship with a woman played by Jeanne
Tripplehorn.
The film revolves around one day in the office of Red Mullet Productions; the site of auditions for a new Hollywood film. It is a day shaken more by jealousy and revenge than by the earthquakes that occur every half-hour. The four-camera structure brings voyeurism to new heights, giving us a surveillance camera view into the personal crises of a group of wealthy, disconnected adults.
Is the quadruple screen tactic annoying? At times, yes. But it also makes “Time Code” an endlessly engrossing picture, because if one part of the screen is boring you, chances are that in another quadrant, something interesting is occurring. Figgis allows his viewers to pick and choose, making the film as close to interactive as possible.
I thought it would be hard for Mike Figgis to regain my respect, but he does so with one simple line, spoken in the film by Stellan Skarsgard. A young Russian filmmaker has come into the Red Mullet office to explain her next feature film, which sounds a lot like the basis of “Time Code”. Four cameras will follow different people and tell the same story. Skarsgard laughs out loud, proclaiming: “That’s the most pretentious crap I’ve ever heard!” It’s a bravura moment of self-loathing that single-handedly apologizes for most of Figgis’ career.
The most contrived plot element of “Time Code” is the earthquake, which was also used in Robert Altman’s similar “Short Cuts” to tie the characters together. But in “Time Code”, the earthquake seems like a metaphor. With “Time Code”, Mike Figgis breaks new cinematic ground, and hopefully the aftershocks will be just as powerful.
Akiva Gottlieb
[email protected]
http://pictureshow.8m.com
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
