Rented (on iTunes) a surprisingly good time travel romantic comedy called Time Freak. I expected little and turned it off after five minutes, thinking it was pretty low budget junk. But picked it up the next day and watched – and enjoyed – the rest. Not without reservation, but way better than first impressions.
The film stars Asa Butterfield and Sansa Stark herself, Sophia Turner. Much of the quality of this movie hinges on the two of them. They are charming and cute together and it was actually pretty nice seeing Sophia Turner, you know, actually be happy on screen. Make no mistake about it, there are scenes where you just love these two wacky kids in love.
The plot is that Butterfield is a genius physicist who invents a time machine so he can go back in time to fix the broken relationship he has with Turner. Only problem is, he starts to abuse the device and actually starts to use it to avoid all arguments or hurt feelings at all. Not only does the movie know that its creepy to “fix” a relationship to get the girl, but also that every little fight or squabble isn’t automatically a bad thing. Maybe those things can enrich a relationship.
And that’s where the movie works. When it focuses on the relationship and presents an honest (if science fictional) relationship and its problems, it’s pretty great. But the movie is also a comedy and that comedy is often at odds with the serious relationship drama. One fantastic bit of drama is followed immediately by a goofy, doofy car chase. I wish they had picked a more consistent tone… even toning down the comedy to better match the drama would have worked better.
But, yeah, overall a surprisingly good movie full of honest, complex emotions. A little more consistent in tone would have worked better. But Butterfield and Turner are stars and make it work.
Score: 85