The Infinite Man

You don't need top end Hollywood actors to make a great movie. This was very cleverly written and well acted.

With a cast of 3 and barely more than one location, first-time feature filmmaker (and writer), Hugh Sullivan, has woven together a topsy-turvy time travel film that falls somewhere between 'Primer' and 'Groundhog Day'. The initial impression is of pure comedy with time travel as the incidental extreme that the main character (played by a fantastic Josh McConville) is willing to go to in order to keep control over his love life. The result is a complex, infinite loop that wowed me with every twist and turn. Though never stepping over the line into 'Thriller' or serious 'Science-Fiction', the logic of the storyline is mathematically maddening and the film does consider some truly heavy existential ideas like the result of jealousy on relationships and how fear of change and the desire to control others is almost always counterproductive. Ultimately, the film is just a ton of fun and, though it perfectly fits within the supposed film-festival mold, even the most novice of movie-goers would get a huge kick out of this one.

This is a primer copycat, its very well executed and has the benefit of being amusing.

Acting is on point, especially the villainous Terry, but you have to wait the second half to understand what you thought were gaping plot holes. This is very different from other low fi sci-fi flicks pride themselves on following their own rules from the beginning end (primer, timeliness, triangle, etc).

The two lead characters are also fairly unlikeable at first, especially the female lead who seem to have even less self respect than the male one. This sort itself out mid flick, but don't expect the level of insane detail found in say, villeneuves' 'enemy'.

My biggest and only gripe are the inconsistencies in object purposes, as for example the rmemory Helmet becomes a time machine of sorts 10 minutes

I'm surprised this is not more popular.

The production was of a very high level, excellent sound and visuals- nice cinematography. Clearly a lot of thought went into the script, but in its quest to be intellectual, sacrificed some of the humanity of the characters. A lot of the quirks of the characters, the way the male lead ran, the vintage clothes, the references to Greek mythology and tantra all seemed very forced.

Important philosophical questions about identity, why we love someone at different times in our lives and why/when we should give up on someone were partially raised but never really explored. By the end of it, I felt like a lot had happened, but I didn't care about the characters at all - I hardly got to know them. All in all, it felt like it was all style and little substance.