In Synch & On Time
Time Code, written, directed, and scored by Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) is the next logical next step after films like Pulp Fiction, Short Cuts, and Magnolia: films that attempt to weave together many interrelated stories into one narrative. Time Code tells all of its stories at the same time in real time, using the conceit of four screens and four soundtracks, all synchronized to perfection. The outcome is a refreshing, quasi-Rashomon for the new millenium. Digital video techonology allows Figgis to overcome the four-screen gimmick and achieve what is a technical tour-de-force.
The first “real time” movie is a true technical marvel
“Timecode” is a term for computer timing patterns that helps film editors synchonize individual frames of a film to a clock; this allows the frames of the movie to be read, and later edited like pages of a book. The fact that Figgis chose Time Code as the title for his film is a hint that he was probably more interested in the technical challenges of shooting a film in real time presented. NTSC, EditTv, and frame rates aside, he manages to weave a very interesting story that's also an impressive display of technical chops.
A little more background on the technical aspects of this film is required before outlining the story. This film was shot in four continuous cuts that each lasted the full length of the movie, about 90 minutes. All of the actors knew the basic storyline, and they knew their roles, but they had no script. Everything you see on the film is improvised. What makes the film so interesting is as Time Code unfolds before you on four screens everything starts to come together as one ... leading to a satisfying conclusion.
At first, the four-screen gimmick is kind of hard to follow, and you wonder: is the whole film going to be like this? Then, as the storylines are juxtaposed before your eyes, and the importance of different frames is signaled by clever sound editing, you begin to understand why things are happening. There is a fair amount of information overload going on here, but in the end, everything presented is used to push the story.
The story is really about a alcoholic director, his lovely wife, and his hot mistress
The film centers around a film director, Alex Green (played by Stellan Skarsgard), whose wife (Saffron Burrows) is going to leave him, whose film company is slowly sliding into oblivion, and whose mistress (the luscious Salma Hayek) has her own problems with a jealous, chain-smoking, gun-toting sugar mommy, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn. The main story is supported by a large ensemble cast, and their little sub-plots, like the security guard who doubles as the dopeman for Alex, and for any of the pretty actress that comes auditioning for roles; or the intense Enya-like Russian filmmaker determined to use digital video to usher in a new era of filmmaking. You get the feeling that there's a lot of self-referential ribbing going on beneath the surface here; maybe Figgis is making a parody of his own life. One wonders, at least; Miss Burrows, for instance, is Figgis' real-life girlfriend. At a minimum, the pretensions of Hollywood life are indelibly satirized here. Many things are happening on-screen and between the lines.
Time Code, with all of its “e-film” underpinnings, could rightfully be called the first true film of the digital generation, not just because of the technology behind the scenes. Folks who've grown up with MTV, Palm Pilots, and videogames are used to seeing lots of things on the screen at the same time. But whereas a lot of the quick-cutting of music videos (and the films inspired by them) is more or less to mask the lack of any narrative, Time Code uses the technology to tell an interesting story. Technology in support of the story ... now that's the ticket.
Film students will love Time Code most
This film is not for everybody. In fact, it will probably most appeal to cinema buffs and film students. The four-screen gimmick is probably too avante-garde an interface for the typical mainstream audience. But hopefully, if Figgis has accomplished anything with this film, he's shown that the new digital filmmaking tools promise to give storytellers a new arsenal with which they can master light and sound narrative.
Related Links:
Time Code (Movie Site)
Digital Storytelling in 4/4 Time (Apple.com)
"The cast worked with charts, maps and a time line in lieu of a script. In the process of making Time Code, cast and crew completed 60 full-length versions of the movie."
"Timecode is important because it identifies individual frames of your video and is used throughout any video editing system. It's rather like the page numbers of a book."
