Timecode (2000)

This movie is a pretentious attempt at being "revolutionary" or whatever the hell you want to call it. Sure this was a potentially interesting idea (real time and quartered screen), but it wasn't used in a very powerful way. Being different doesn't make something good, and this movie is a prime example of that. This idea could have actually made a point or followed a story that wasn't clichéd and boring instead of some over-dramatic Hollywood crap. This movie was a confusing and bland waste of time. I never felt the need to find out how anything ended up or felt any attachment or interest in any of the characters. It was lacking in any kind of substance whatsoever, and I hope that the majority of people who consider viewing this movie spare themselves and change their minds.

I think Figgis' got ahead of himself when he thought he could pull this off. It is a great idea, but even after 15 takes there are still scenes where the actors flub lines or can't think of something intelligent to say. Cameramen appear in multiple scenes as well as other members of the production crew. Yes there is no film editing, cuts I mean, but he does edit the sound which in this case is just as effective. Yeah you can watch any frame of your choosing, but most will choose to watch the one or two with sound than the others. I think editing would of actually helped this because so much of an actors performance is driven by the editor. You could still have four screens, but why not cut a little to see some performances shine? This is no Rope by Hitchcock thats for sure.

I began watching "Timecode" with a few friends; one bailed part way through, calling it a glorified soap opera. I stuck it out to the end, but even though some of it was not typical daytime fare, overall I thought the criticism was deserved. I found it difficult to identify with or feel empathy for the stock aspiring actress characters; the random masseuse was clearly the most enjoyable of an otherwise bland set of individuals. The interesting twist in filming with four simultaneous cameras was interesting, but the banality of the storyline- cheating lovers and the toll it takes, dreams of big screen success, inter-office tensions- detracted from the innovative idea. Trying to keep track of all four frames at once was a sort of mental aerobic, probably working those muscles you develop from listening to Mozart as a baby, but the plot just didn't seem worth it. The attempt at realism was checked by the fact that there was always only one frame in which important action was taking place; at times it seemed they might as well have just cut the superfluous cameras. Anyway, not sure if I'd recommend it; it's a challenge to keep track of, but not quite worth the extra effort over simply watching a movie.

was prepared for the absolute worst in watching this and actually really enjoyed it...I enjoyed watching time pass in real time, ppl actually having to sit in the car and drive somewhere, ppl sitting in an office waiting for someone to arrive, i really liked so much about this that i was surprised it took me so long to see it, gave me a ton of ideas about film-making and a lot of thoughts about story in general... well done...the soundtrack was good and the acting was spot on, it must have been so much fun to make this film...and it was all seamless, no fake cutting, no editing, just roll the camera for 90 minutes and lets see what we get..man, I am so going to work with a concept like this...it was so visualQ