Timeless
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: B-
We have
seen the tale of the hooker with the heart of gold and the male con artist over
and over again, but I have to give writer/editor/director Chris Hart credit for
giving it a more sincere, naturalistic stab with his 1996 film Timeless. Lyrica (Melissa Duge) has the usual vengeful
loser pimp after her and Terry (Peter Byrne) has his seriously damaged
past. These are all cliché, but the film
ignores that and just gets on with it.
They have
some chemistry, due both to their casting and acting talent. This is a very low-budget production, but in
this case, that often amounts to a great feel of naturalism and a severe and
refreshing lack of pretension. That is
why, though the film ultimately does not work overall because of the clichés
and inexperience of the filmmakers, it does not matter. This was shot on film, much effort was made
to make a strong film, and all of that does show on the screen. The bigger a film fan you are, the more you
will appreciate what was attempted here.
We rarely see this kind of ambition, but all involved were obviously
trying to make something they were proud of, and that is rare in any quadrant
of filmmaking offers that.
The
letterboxed 1.85 X 1 image is above average, but shot with some interesting
character by cinematographer Chris Korr.
Some editing and a few shots are questionable, though you have to wonder
if that is really from a lack of money.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is simple stereo if that, but is audible
enough, especially for a low-budget production.
There are no surrounds or extras.
Phaedra
Pictures was an ambitious upstart reminiscent of early Miramax, the current Newmarket, Strand, or the better years of Orion and
the original United Artists. They seem
to love films, unlike most companies who put out anything, a feeling I get from
more studio releases than ever. They did
not make it, with their distribution getting picked up by another solid
distributor, Pathfinder, whose DVDs we have keep covering on the site. Timeless
may not live up to its name, but it is a very watchable little film and I hope
to see more from all of its participants.
- Nicholas Sheffo
