Timeless

Writer/director Chris Hart, along with director of photography Chris Norr, capably control a full allowance of camera techniques during their construction of this engrossing work, utilizing such cinematic modes as slow motion, still lifes/freeze frames, and dissolves, in addition to nouvelle vague type low light imagery, all in the service of a large proportion of the footage for a narrative that takes place in and about the Irish-flavoured Woodside District of the City of New York's Borough of Queens. Fortunately, there is a plot line here, as well, involving the talents of Hart who does not delay in establishing narrative flow that emerges from the crisply edited film, focussing upon its late teenage protagonist, Terry (Peter Byrne), an urban con artist who becomes champion for a dispirited young prostitute, Lyrica (Melissa Duge), in support of her struggle to break away from a loutish procurer, played effectively by Michael Griffiths. An ancillary story depicts Terry's sottish father Bill (Thomas Grube) and his earnest efforts to locate his runaway wife (Terry's mother), a frustrating exercise because of his misguided reliance upon an unprincipled private investigator. As he waits for information purportedly being obtained by this swindler, he relies for financial support upon son Terry, who is part of a two man team of street hustlers preying upon gullible bargain hunters for electronic wares. The close relationship between Terry and Lyrica not unexpectedly becomes a romantic one, strengthened after the pair's flight to the off-season shores of Long Island, shot beneath the area's somber natural light. Here the film's climactic scenes occur, although the work also depicts a resolution to Bill's search for his strayed wife. While the tale's basic elements are not terribly original, an emphasis upon creative techniques employed by Hart make of it an entirely fresh viewing experience throughout. TIMELESS received a showing at the 1996 Sundance Festival, with other festival screenings during the same year at Venice, Mannheim, Edinburgh, Cleveland, and San Jose. However, it has since slipped into an Orwellian Memory Hole. The strategy of Hart and Norr of filming with both 15mm. and 35mm., as well as with Super 8, contributes to the film's generally interesting visuals. However, the rapid fire editing choices of the director are most important in raising the worth of this undervalued product that will remain within the memories of a good many viewers.

Although this is not, in anyway, a perfect movie, it has some of those intangible values that make a movie worth seeing.

Probably, the story has been told millions of times (suburban boy with drunk father meets suburban girl engaged as a hooker by his pimp, an wants to liberate her from all that stuff). It's absolutely true that it doesn't bring anything new. But the storytelling, the narrative is, I might say, if not innovative, at least nice and suggesting.

With a low calm pace and with some still shots of the city and the sorrounding area where the characters roam around, the feeling of the movie is quite touching and even aesthetically poetic.

This movie attended to Sundance '96 and, as I said, really deserves a look if you're finished enjoying that "American Pie" s***. This is serious cinema. Might like it or not, but don't be fooled; this may not be Citizen Kane, but it's art, not entertainment ;-)