By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
Big budgets are not always needed to make a mixed-genre film successful. When Infinite Man searches for love across time, just what results is hilarious! This movie offers the best in what science fiction can look like using outdated 70’s technology, how romance crafted Aussie-style can become universal and where comedy can go with only three performers carrying the film.
To keep track of which version of Dean (Josh McConville) is whom is not all that difficult because this actor manages to nuance every iteration of himself with subtle differences to show the wisdom gained as he tries to figure out how to escape the mother of all Groundhog Day. Phil Connor never had it that difficult.
Thankfully Marty McFly never had this kind of adventure in Back to the Future 2. All he had to do was to avoid interacting with his past and future self when time could have changed permanently during The Enchantment Under The Sea dance. The time-travel paradox can be explained, but the headache — and heartache — is not with whether or not Dean and Lana (Hannah Marshall) will get hitched. The issue is when they will resolve their differences in understanding what being in a relationship is about. That kind of heart in this screenplay shows that there’s more to this film than meets the eye on such a day like Valentine’s.
Even geeks can get lots of love. Even though Lana thinks her nerdy boyfriend is a control freak, she has affection for him, and the chemistry Marshall and McConville shows. Although Dean just wants the perfect anniversary of their first time meeting, the idea of recreating exactly what happened just will not work. He forgets spontaneity is important.
Little does he know that messing with time and space can be a messy affair. With the story-taking place at an abandoned hotel, thankfully the only persons affected are just him, Lana and Terry (Alex Dimitriades). This third person is an ex of Lana’s who never got over her. Just like Dean, they still have affection even though the story hints at her wanting to ditch both of them. Or in this film’s case, many of them?
Just to see Dean run into his past selves is downright hilarious. Kudos have to go to film editor, writer and director Hugh Sullivan for constructing a well thought out screenplay that spotlights McConville’s talents. He has the makings to be the next Simon Pegg.
The transitions between scenes are seamless and it helps add to the illusion that there are many Deans running around the hotel. Apparently, no stand-ins were used. Continuity experts might even be challenged to figure out which Dean is whom by measure of the stubble on his face and the way his hair looks. Plenty of careful attention to detail helps keep people knowing which version is indeed the real one.
When this movie constructs the fact that Dean is living in his own world, his own bubble, the ultimate question is when will it be popped? With time-travel, hopefully what’s unraveled will eventually show that no matter what kind of paradox is being used to move this tale, ultimately it is love that reveals itself as timeless.
4 Stars out of 5
