Hidden Gem: Time Lapse (2014)

As anyone who has a passion for good movies knows, there is no better feeling than being surprised by your enjoyment of a movie that you have never heard of or have never seen a trailer for. One such movie which I had the joy of experiencing  recently was Time Lapse (2014) from relatively unknown director Bradley King who also co-wrote the script. The film follows three friends as they discover a camera that takes pictures 24 hours into the future. As the characters conspire to use the camera for personal gain, the gravity of their actions soon becomes evident as they unravel the mystery of the previous owner and learn of their own fate.

Finn (Matt O'Leary) pondering over the many Polaroid photographs which display future events in Time Lapse (2014)

The joy of Time Lapse(2014) comes not from outlandish special effects but its ability to tell an original and exciting story which will be relished by fans of Christopher Nolan films such as Memento (2000), The Prestige (2006) and latest blockbuster, Interstellar (2014). Time travel is by no means an unexplored phenomena in films but the scope of  the story which focuses on an average person's reaction to time travel stimulates a connectivity with the audience where one might say 'If I had a time machine, I would...'.

"Don't f**k with time"- Jasper (George Finn) in Time Lapse

The three main characters Finn (Matt O'Leary), Callie (Danielle Panabaker) and Jasper (George Finn) portray, for the most part, believable performances which add to increasing tension of this film. Each character develops with the gradual accentuation of darkness and threat that is presented with each new photo. As their mental states intertwine and react with each other within the confined environment which they are forced into in order to uphold the continuity of time, the film progressively takes a darker tone and one that becomes more intriguing. When the story comes full circle, I found myself thinking for long periods of time about the theme of fate which Time Lapse (2014) explored, whether we are on a predestined pathway to an unalterable fate or are freely changing our own  fate by our everyday individual decisions. Bradley King really does a good job of making sure that the story does not suffer from plot-holes or paradoxes such as those associated by the recent and popular time-travel endeavour, Looper (2012). Whilst there are some questionable plot points in later sequences such as the over-the-top reaction by one of the main characters, the ending is smart, shocking and unpredictable making for full and gratifying experience.

Don't watch the trailer or read any more synopsis! The best way to watch this movie is knowing as little as possible about it. Enjoy and feel free to discuss in the comments what you thought of the film!

9/10