Remote and Second Chances: A Short Film Review

Marc Roussel is the brains behind the horror short Sweet Tooth which is a four to five minute production that that has won a third place showing at the 24hr Toronto Film Challenge. Roussel has also worked in the editorial department for several feature length films including Chloe and Adoration. Most recently he has completed the shorts The Elusive Man, Rewind My Love and the film that will be reviewed here, Remote. Remote is a 2008 production that takes a look at time travel, murder, guilt, second chances, and intimacy among strangers. This a long list of topics for a fifteen minute short; however, Roussel accomplishes a narration on all of these while creating an interesting, and enjoyable film clip.

Remote follows Matt (Ron Basch) through his routine at home just before a big winter storm hits the surrounding neighbourhood. His televsion and other amenities go out temporarily only for a woman to appear on the other side of his flat screen. This is only slightly bizarre, but gets stranger when this young woman, Justine, (Sarah Silverstone) starts talking with Matt through this visual portal and states that she is living in 1978. The tension gets turned up a notch when a mysterious man enters Justine's house just as Matt, living in 2008, learns that Justine has been murdered in the same house he is currently living in.

Has this reviewer completed confused you? If not continue reading 'cause Remote is an interesting thriller that bends time to show how lives can be changed with only a small decision. Scientist Stephen Hawking has recently come out (May 2010) to speak in favour of the possibility of time travel; however, there is always the Fermi Paradox that in summary states that if there was the possibility of time travel then there would be tourists from the future already here. Maybe, all the time tourists are visiting the dinosaurs, right? As well, Hawking suggests a fourth dimension, known as time, that will allow future physicists and others to travel through wormholes to different times (Wiki). So, Roussel's bloody little piece of fiction is not really so fictional after all.

Perhaps, like the film suggests, people will be able to speak with those from the past and intervene in their lives in a positive fashion. While this is not possible today seeing the film is. Future screenings for this mind-bender of a film include a stop in Richland, Washington in October of this year. Future showings are likely and can be found by at the film's fan site below. This reviewer highly recommends you see this film for the entertaining whodunit premise and for the possibilities, or the questions that the film opens up for audiences or future time travellers.

Story/plot/writing: 8.
Characters/interpretation: 7.5.
Plot twists/reveals: 8.

Overall: 7.5 exploding brain cells out of 10 (see this film!)

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Sources:

Stephen Hawking at the Daily Mail Talking of Time Travel

An Intro' Article on Time Travel at Wikipedia