Movie Review for Timecode

Summary: On a quadruple-split screen, four separate, improvised storylines -- each shot in a continuous, feature-length take and set against a backdrop of the Los Angeles film industry -- unfold simultaneously in real time, building to a final, climactic moment in which they all unexpectedly come together. Among the 20-odd main characters, four stand out: a philandering movie executive and his exasperated, angst-ridden young wife; an aspiring actress who's having a furtive affair with the exec in the hopes of furthering her career, and her wealthy female lover. As their four stories unravel, each drawing other characters into their physical and emotional orbit, they begin to intertwine in unexpected ways.

                         Reviews of Timecode
By Nick Nunziata of CHUD (4/3)
            Great work, a good film.

By Christopher Null of filmcritic.com (7/0)
            Despite its quirks, Time Code is actually mostly enjoyable.

By Michael W. Phillips, Jr. of Goatdog's Movies (7/0)
            The film's raison d'etre is its technique.

By Eric Lurio of Greenwich Village Gazette (7/0)
            The problem is that the plot is taken from a grade Z porno film and there isn't enough explicit s...

By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            One can achieve almost the same effect any afternoon at your local Sears store by turning 4 adjoi...

By Elias Savada of Nitrate Online (7/0)
            Brilliant. Mike Figgis has shown us the future of digital technology. It shall be glorious.

                         Reviews of Timecode
By Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews (7/0)
            This gimmicky experimental film from Mike Figgis ("Leaving Las Vegas") isn't worth the film it...

By Jack Garner of Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (7/0)
            Truth be told, this movie's worth exists solely in its imaginative technique. Filmed conventional...

By Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine (7/0)
            One has to admire its visual chutzpah.

By Rob Blackwelder of SPLICEDWire (7/0)
            While the individual stories are only mildly interesting ... Figgis' ability to mix them like a n...

By A. O. Scott of New York Times (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            Most movies offer carefully calibrated insults to the intelligence. This one just might make you ...

By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (3/4) No reference
            From a technical standpoint, it's a sheer marvel.

                         Reviews of Timecode
By Chris Grunden of Film Journal International (3/4) No reference
            What Time Code perhaps proves most of all is that the digital filmmaking revolution means absolut...

By Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times (3/4) No reference
            The screen is filled by 28 actors, some familiar and some not, but all of them effective.

By Chuck Rudolph of Matinee Magazine (3/4) No reference
            What fails it is the generic, banal storyline.

By Shawn Levy of Oregonian (3/4) No reference
            An audaciously unique and exciting film.

By Philip Booth of Orlando Weekly (3/4) No reference
            As an innovative feat of daring vision and logistics, it's a marvelous success. But in terms of t...

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (3/4) No reference
            A triumph of style and technological innovation, but a failure in terms of storytelling.

                         Reviews of Timecode
By William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (3/4) No reference
            Induces a serious case of sensory overload that left me drained and edgy.

By Geoff Pevere of Toronto Star (3/4) No reference
            As gimmicky as that sounds, what's most amazing about the enterprise is how well it works.

By Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide's Movie Guide (3/4) No reference
            Figgis's bold narrative strategy turns what could have been a standard-issue chronicle of shallow...

Movie Distributors

Production Companies
Red Mullet

Movie Studios
(Sony Pictures Entertainment): Screen Gems