It was really all Terry’s fault. I mean, sure, Dean had prepared the “perfect” romantic weekend and blown it entirely. He didn’t account for the venue going out of business; he programmed a romance schedule like a cruise director; and he was about as flexible as a flagpole – something you really want in a partner … but, darn it, if Terry hadn’t shown up, there really would have never been a need to invent time travel.
Dean (Josh McConville) is an odd combination of scientist and sap. Mostly sap. I can’t believe Lana (Hannah Marshall) wants anything to do with him, but maybe she sees something we don’t. The thing is, Dean’s actions speak of desperation from moment one. The film begins at the one-year anniversary of Dean and Lana; Dean is out to recreate the best of their relationship and has a detailed agenda to do exactly that. Right out of the gate, however, Dean’s desperate and clingy manner makes it seem like he’s atoning –or maybe not exactly atoning, but certainly there’s a guy there who knows the girl is going to leave if he doesn’t give her something better.
On their anniversary, they return to the remote hotel/dorm complex where they once had a great weekend. And it’s deserted. Like ghost town deserted. And they exchange anniversary gifts – he gives her his own invention, a device to record and re-live her greatest moments of happiness; she gives him a Bunsen burner. And then Terry (Alex Dimitriades) showed up. Terry is a jerk. Lana and Terry dated four years ago. He’s not over it.
And the film got weird. Because Dean needed to invent time travel to minimize Terry’s impact on this moment. But –and this is important- for all his scientific acumen, Dean never learned to accept things he cannot change (which is one of the
key reasons he’s a shitty boyfriend). And I’ll spoil no more of the film than that.
Clearly, The Infinite Man was written by a scientist. Do you know how I can tell? The science? HA! The gadgetry? Double HA! The “time machine” consists of two tricked-out bathing caps and some equipment that got left by the side of the road. The technical stuff? The script? The Hero? No, no, and not necessarily. I can tell this film was written by a scientist because of the painstaking need to close the time loops. Only a scientist would truly care this much that every conversation were explained from both points of view. For a film with only three people and one set, it is very easy to get lost among The Infinite Man paradigms; the loops became my only way of finding the path back to sanity.
This one is a tough recommendation because there are only three people in the film and I can pretty much guarantee you won’t like at least two of them. However, The Infinite Man is very well considered if not very well executed. A great deal of time went into the screenplay. I would definitely recommend the film to fans of science…much less to fans of relationships. 85 minutes of “wha..?” is just long enough to leave you really confused for weeks on end.
Traveling backwards to alter an ugly view
Dean found his troubles were more than just a few
The past? No solution
It’s mere time pollution
Go to the future and summon a better you
Not Rated, 85 Minutes
Director: Hugh Sullivan
Writer: Hugh Sullivan
Genre: Our screwed future/past?
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Time travel nuts
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: #MeToo
