Here's the second review of TIME CODE that I've seen folks... Personally, I feel this will be a fascinating EXPERIMENTAL film... I'm quite interested in seeing how the mainstream audience takes to it. From me to you, Leigh... Ballsy move... Here's Tron....

SEX, LIES, DIGITAL CAMERAS, COCAINE, LESBIANS, HERPES & EARTHQUAKES…..OH MY!!!

Hello Harry, My Name is TRON and I have been a reader of your site for quite sometime. I just saw a preview this evening in Washington D.C. for the movie TIME CODE. Unknown before going to the movie, director Mike Figgis was at this showing tonight. Not to influence my review completely but after the showing there was a Q&A session with Mr. Figgis that did enlighten the crowd that stayed, he did give some detail on the complexity of the production. The film in this theater was shown with digital projection (if anyone can explain the difference between a $ 75,000 projector and $1,000,000 projector). Now this showing has a novelty effect to it. Mr. Figgis remixed the sound from multiple tracks as the movie was shown and cued a couple of songs from a CD that are not in the theatrical release. For the next three days, three more cities will get the royal treatment from the director, before the theatrical release. This mix was slightly at a hot level with the music and sound effects. Mike Figgis did tell the crowd that the released version will take on a different effect since all four screens audio tracks can be heard at the same time, in this mix he isolated some tracks to center the attention to certain parts of the screen. At the end of the Q&A session a friend and I were talking to a couple, I was telling the group a brief principle mixing in surround sound and why we might understand the conversation in certain parts of the screen better in the normal mixdown, and a gentleman who overheard our conversation identified himself as the sound engineer said that the surround channels in the theatrical release will have full dialogue in the rear speakers and separate stereo mix.( we were informed that we only heard a 2 track mix of the movie this evening)

Now for the Review:

THIS FILM IS NOT FOR EVERYONE

This is an experimental film, yet it is unique does have its highs and lows. If you are a student of filmmaking or a film geek such as Harry or a person who likes a "thinking film" this is the film for you. The everyday box office filmgoer will probably reject this film. I will give a few spoilers ahead but I will try to make them subtle as possible.

The film is split into four screens, shot all at the same time, 29 actors, 4 cameras, 93 minutes long. There are two main stories, one which we are introduced to Lauren Hathaway (Jeanne Tripplehorn) who has her and her lover Rose (Salma Hayek) chauffeured to Rose's audition for a movie role. The second main plot line is the relationship with Emma Green (Saffon Burrows), who is introduced as she is talking to her shrink and her husband Alex Green (Stellan Skarsgard), who is a top dog at "RED MULLET FILMS".

Now the plot line is very complex to tell you everything, but all events converge around Red Mullet Films. It is filled with a cast of odd and unique characters that still at the end of the film you know very little about them. It was fun for myself to try to catch a cameraman in view of another camera when two are filming the same subjects, but this part of the film was done real well. As much as I tried to find a flaw in filming it was done well. Most of the actors reacted well with a camera aimed at them for long sequences. Jeanne Tripplehorn had the camera on her for almost 100% of the film. There were sequences for over 10 minutes at a time without any dialogue from her character Lauren had confronted Rose that she had suspected her of cheating in which she denies. In minutes after entering the studio offices has a quickie with Alex as Lauren listens. She had to improvise reactions and nervous gestures as she listens through a bugging devise that was put in Rose's purse before she enters the film offices of Red Mullet. Salma Hayek as beautiful as she is still cannot act. I think I will watch Dusk to Dawn again. Stellan Skarsgard's character (Alex) was done real well as a movie executive who is haunted by demons and is drowning out life by drinking, screwing and snorting. His character does drastically transform within the 93 minutes of the film. The film did have a good sense of humor. Danny Huston plays a sleazy, cocaine -sniffing, pill popping security guard that is hitting on almost every woman in the film. (Better than a doughnut eating, coffee drinking, asleep at the desk slob) Julian Sands spends most of the time giving exec's in the office bizarre massages.

------SPOILER-!!!!!----Steven Webber has the best line in the FILM!!! His character Darren Fetzer mentions to a group in the office that they have paid Parker and Stone $1,000,000 per episode to leave South Park and to develop for them a new show called "TIME TOILET". This involves a couple of guys at a nuclear power plant who discover a toilet, contaminated by radiation, is a time portal to the past and can change the events of history. Abe Lincoln survives his assassination from John Wilkes Booth from a single flush!!!!!!! OK I did spoil that one. . Richard Edson plays the director, Lester Moore who was a slight comic relief to the film. Any fan of American Gothic will recognize him. If there was any more humor added to this film I would have mistaken it for an episode of Sherman Oaks.

As the movie progresses we endure several synchronized earthquake tremors, several scenes of cocaine sniffing, a couple of lesbian kiss scenes, story lines merging and overlapping, a hot casting couch scene behind a movie screen, a screen test that the actors pay more attention to themselves on camera than the script, a wacky movie pitch and filmscore to the executives at Red Mullet Films about four synchronized digital cameras shown at the same time, and by the end all of the scenes merging to a climatic ending.

If I was to compare this film and rate it against any top 10 film, I would give it **1/2 out of 4.

Uniqueness is ****,

Story**

Dialogue* ½

Acting ***

improv*** (if there was a written script *1/2)

Choreography ****

I would say that certain parts of the film were better than others, at times depending on the actors or the scenes, the story, dialogue, and acting quality seemed to fluctuate. It was difficult to get involved or care about the characters, which was a major weakness to this film. It did take about 1/3 of the films running time to get settled down to understand what was going on and to take the audience for a ride. Knowing about the improvised script gives this film some merit of achievement with the cast.

Now to give a little more info about the Q&A session with the director..

He did respond to the first question of the night of what he thought about Lucas shooting Episode 2 in all digital. He responded, at this moment he doesn't believe George Lucas will do all of the filming in this method (inside information or theory?). He said it was more practical to film and transfer to digital for editing.

I did question Mr. Figgis about the future of a DVD release and the possibility of using the angle feature of DVD with the film. If the film is successful, they have plans to market a 2 DVD disc set of the film. On one DVD will be an exclusive version for Macintosh so that you can edit your own version film. This will not be only for the obvious of scene editing but also for sound mixing from multiple tracks and can be transferred to VHS (no macrovision?). Of the 15 different takes of this film that were shot in two weeks, he mentions take#14 had a different feel than the released version and may as well be released in the disc set.

For the character that Jeanne Tripplehorn plays was intended for a male role, preferably a gangster type. Of the actors to pass on the role were Andy Garcia, Michael Keaton and unbelievably Gary Shandling.

One person asked if he was trying to set a landmark in filmmaking. Mr Figgis replied he did not set out to make any goal for it to be a landmark, he just wanted to try something new, and if it opened any new doors for ideas would be fine.

SPOILER….

One person in the audience did question the ending why no one called an ambulance or the police. He didn't give a complete answer but did mention in a couple of the frames towards the end that you can hear in the final version characters questioning one another if someone has called an ambulance.

As I was unprepared for this interesting Q&A with the director,( I did attend years ago a Q&A with the director of Lord of the Illusions, but it became Quantum Leap question night, apparently nobody cared about the film ) I am recalling by memory. If there was anyone there who can correct any info or add a comment that I missed, it would be appreciated. Harry I don't know if I have a chance in the world of critics but in case of future reviews , please call me TRON.