Anthony Hopkins' "Slipstream"

The directorial and screenwriting debut of one of the world's greatest living actors is by no means an accessible film. While Anthony Hopkins stars in "Slipstream" as well, the thespian has stepped behind the camera to bring us a strangely imaginative cinematic experience.

As a genre a Slipstream blends literary fiction with fantastical sci-fi elements like a wormhole between magic realism and bizarro fiction; it is the fiction of strangeness. A Slipstream is also a form of superluminal speed used in fiction like "Star Trek", "Doctor Who" and the game "Halo". In physics a Slipstream is the wake of air or fluid trailing behind an object at the same speed; birds flying in V-formation or drafting in racing.

Anthony Hopkins' "Slipstream" feels like a vigorous mash of all these elements. In viewing his thought process we are trapped by its slipstream and unnervingly whisked along for the ride. Hopkins's wrote the screenplay like a frenzied stream of consciousness, where each unfolding scene is piece in a chaotic puzzle. Hopkins notes "Slipstream" as a fascination with time and as he said in a Reuter's interview, "I was really interested in breaking all the rules of cinema."

It is a mock-noir, psychological thriller about filmmaking, death and stepping outside time's stream. The oft seen description of "Slipstream" is that of a man who remembers his own future. They are lacuna-infused premonitions that flash through a man's mind like memories, none of which make sense.

The film itself makes no sense and is challenging, at times down right frustrating to watch. Though, "Slipstream" is one of those rare storytelling masterpieces about everything without meaning anything. Or perhaps a story about nothing that means everything.

A lot of the confusion comes from the maddening style of "Slipstream" editor Michael R Miller. In "Ghost World," "Stigmata" Trey Parker's "Orgazmo," Coen Brothers' classics "Raising Arizona" and "Miller's Crossing" as well as the 2010 comedy "Happythankyoumoreplease" Miller was a craftsmen, but Hopkins tapped an overwhelming artistic surge from him. Then there is Mr. Dante Spinotti: cinematographer extraordinaire. Spinotti's imagery is always memorable, as in "The Last of the Mohicans," "Heat" and "L.A. Confidential". It's no less memorable in "Slipstream" and in some way keeps the film flowing with a visually continuity.

The phenomenal casting in "Slipstream" is no doubt due to the unquestionably opportunity to work with Anthony Hopkins as a director. Hopkins's real like wife and script muse, Stella Arroyave plays his wife in the film. Christian Slater, John Turturro, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher Lawford, Michael Clarke Duncan and Gavin Grazer are comedic forces of Shakespearean magnitude in "Slipstream". The stellar performances of Television stars Camryn Manheim ("The Practice") and S. Epatha Merkerson ("Law & Order") appear with surprising vivacity.

Hopefully you haven't come here seeking explanation, as Hopkins's "Slipstream" is as unpredictable as it is complex. I could spell out the ending and its meanings for you, but that would just hand you the puzzle without seeing the pieces. Perhaps seeing David Benioff's 2005 psychological thriller "Stay", directed by Marc Forster and starring Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling, Bob Hoskins and Naomi Watts will prepare you. "Stay" and "Slipstream" share a pivotal plot twist ending; yet, "Slipstream" is far more challenging.

Anthony Hopkins has drummed up what feels like decades of suppressed angst about filmmaking. His writing is full of the energy and guts of a young screenwriter, but with the wisdom of the most seasoned scribes. He has created a slice of cinema for the cinephile; overly rich in its flavors and densely packed with ingredients. If you're a connoisseur of the strange and admirer of Hopkins's demanding presence, like me you will eat it up till the last crumb falls indulgently from your gaping gaze.