Continuum
First thing I should say, is this shouldn’t be confused with the SyFy TV show Continuum… Or the Stargate movie Stargate: Continuum. In fact the movie when it had it’s American cinema release was call ‘I’ll Follow You Down’, which i’ll admit, isn’t the best title, but it’s a damn sight less confusing. I’m sure the idea was to give the film a more scifi title, but they could have picked something that wasn’t already in use by 2 established tv franchises!
So, with that out of the way, back to the review…
The film stars follow the story of a married couple, Marika (Gillian Anderson – X-Files, The Fall) & Gabriel (Rufus Sewell – The Holiday, A Knight’s Tale), and their young son Erol (John Paul Ruttan – Robocop, Murdoch Mysteries). The family head to the airport to see off Gabriel to give a physics lecture at a conference, and all seems fine. That is until they come to pick him up a few day’s later, and he’s not on the plane, not answering his phone, and no one can find him. Skip forward 12 years, Erol has grown into The Sixth Sense’s Haley Joel Osment, and he’s managed for his life to continued on. However, Marika has never got over not knowing what happened to him, and has been battling depression over the loss. It’s not until Erol’s grandfather (Victor Garber – Alias, The Flash), who is also a physic’s professor, reveals he think’s he knows what happened to Erol’s father, and it relates to some ground breaking research Gabriel was working on… and that he might still be alive… Although to reach him, they may have to destroy everything they know, and change the past to bring him back.
If you’re looking for some big sci-fi epic, this really isn’t it. Although their are sci-fi elements to the story, the real focus here is on whether Erol is prepared to sacrifice everything to bring his father back. Writer/Director Richie Mehta has a fairly laid back style and produces a movie which is interesting, but could have done with a little more bite to it. The main plot points are somewhat predictable, and serve as a catalyst to push Erol towards finding his father. It might have been rather more interesting had he had to make more moral choices, rather than fate pushing him towards the inevitable goal. The cast give solid performances all around, and Osment in particular proves that he’s lost none of the skill that one him the Oscar nomination all those years ago.
For me it’s a film that’s solidly performed and directed, but could maybe have done with a little more tension and a little less predictable script. Not a bad movie, and worth watching if you’re a fan of the actors involved, or you’re looking for something to view on a Saturday night in.
CONTINUUM is available digitally 2nd March 2015
and on DVD from 9th March 2015
