Time Code
Time Code is a difficult film to rate. If you don’t know anything about it, it is a film shot on digital video, and we the audience watch four segments of the screen simultaneously as the story (stories) unfolds before us. All 4 segments are one continuous shot, about one hour and 50 minutes or so (one is longer than all the rest) shot at the exact same time as the other three, with no edits or cuts or do-overs or anything, and the story segments converge and diverge. The acting is slice of life, real, by necessity. The director (Leaving Las Vegas’ Mike Figgis) operated one camera and the others were, no doubt, trusted minions. The sound is live in the camera so the crew must be totally silent and do their work unheard. We are able to “tune in” to certain story moments by having the sound mix raised or lowered in the quadrant the director wants us to observe - but sometimes it is simultaneous noise we have to choose from. The cameras meet in rooms and yet we never see a camera. The images contain images of their own - mirrors, projections, handicam monitors, etc. The actors sometimes are just walking or thinking or listening in their quadrant, but sometimes they are having sex or spying or singing or arguing or whatever. As a technical achievement and a truly interesting piece of work, Time Code is a total Full Price Feature.
As a story, it’s difficult to follow, not so much because of the four quadrants, but because the natural, slice of life aspect of it makes it hard to figure out who is whom to each other, how the names and people match up, and keeping up with what is happening in the other 3 quadrants when you are watching the “highlighted” one. For long periods of time, Saffron Burrows is wasted, just walking around, looking pensive, but we don’t really know why she does anything or what purpose she serves, and yet she seems to be really important. Poor Jeanne Tripplehorn spends a good deal of time listening (to what is going on in another segment) and reacting to it - but I would argue that she as an actress uses her “dead time” much more effectively. Everyone else has lots of stuff to do, but eventually it’s hard to concentrate on one story for fear of losing a thread in another story, especially after some camera crossings and red herrings. Is that blonde girl important or is she just atmosphere? Should we watch how that guy reacts with everyone who passes him or should we pay attention to the production meeting over there? It was very relaxing to stare at a blank wall after the film was done - do not operate heavy machinery after viewing.
My recommendation for this DVD release would be to have the soundtrack as released, and then use the “angle” feature to go between the 4 different individual audio tracks so you can get focused on what you might have missed otherwise. And of course the directors’ commentary track would help a lot. I don’t know if I would watch the movie again and again, but I do know I missed a lot and wish I could reclaim it. Maybe then the story will seem more fleshed out and ponderous. As it is, it is a story about nothing (or about a lot of people) that goes nowhere but it does it in the most interesting way possible. The mechanics of the film force you to be alert and interested, but there is not a lot of story payoff. Thinking about the practical aspects maintains interest…”He had to be ready for that to happen the whole time! How did they have simultaneous reactions to earthquakes?” and so forth. Digital Video has opened up the infamous “long shot” concept now to the length of a tape (apparently at least 2 hours) rather than the length of a roll of 35mm film stock (10 minutes). The musings about long opening shots from Hitchcock films or The Player will soon seem as quaint as the family gathering about the wireless to listen to the Mercury Theatre’s presentation of War of the Worlds. Just because Al Jolson spoke in the Jazz Singer doesn’t mean the rest of the movie makes it worth watching, and as they say, there is no substitute for story.
If you are into filmmaking and into cinema verite in particular, do not miss this film. If you prefer to curl up with a good book or to writhe in agony waiting for Niles to tell Daphne how he feels, skip it.
MPAA Rating R -drug use,sexuality, language& scene of violence.
Release date 4/28/00 Limited
Time in minutes 93
Director Mike Figgis
Studio Screen Gems
