Themes: Romantic Betrayal, Filmmaking, Love Triangles
Main Cast: Xander Berkeley, Golden Brooks, Saffron Burrows, Viveka Davis, Richard Edson, Salma Hayek, Holly Hunter, Kyle MacLachlan, Leslie Mann, Stellan Skarsgård, Jeanne Tripplehorn
Release Year: 2000
Country: US
Run Time: 97 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Director Mike Figgis helmed this ground-breaking experimental feature, filmed with four synchronized digital video cameras in four separate locations. The story, outlined in advance but otherwise improvised, was enacted in a single continuous take, like a stage play, with the unedited images from all four locations presented on the screen at once. Figgis and his crew chose the best single run-through, and the result is the film's final release version. The story focuses on four main characters around the casting sessions for a film called Bitch of Louisiana to be directed by Lester Moore (Richard Edson): Alex Green (Stellan Skarsgard), the studio executive overseeing Moore's project; his wife Emma (Saffron Burrows); gangster Lauren Hathaway (Jeanne Tripplehorn); and her unfaithful lover Rose (Salma Hayek). These characters' paths cross as murder, infidelity, and dirty dealings are interrupted by an earthquake and its aftershocks. Time Code 2000 also features Kyle MacLachlan, Holly Hunter, Julian Sands, Steven Weber, Danny Huston, Viveka Davis, and Laurie Metcalf. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Almost by default, Mike Figgis' audacious experiment with the powers of digital video is one of the director's better efforts. The design of the film -- four continuous takes, onscreen at once -- virtually guarantees that something interesting will be happening at least 25% of the time. At its best, there's too much to absorb in one sitting. Figgis' choice of improvisers, however, proves to be a mixed bag. Stellan Skarsgård and Holly Hunter shine in scenes which require them to be honest, sardonic, and even tragic; Julian Sands and Salma Hayek, meanwhile, show a heretofore unseen comic side. On the other hand, femme fatales Jeanne Tripplehorn and Saffron Burrows essentially twiddle their thumbs for much of the film and overact when they get the opportunity to say or do anything. For all its claims of "invention," Timecode is actually conventionally engrossing: with its simplistic plot -- involving infidelity and insensitivity at a slick Hollywood production company -- the overall result is like watching a juicy soap opera through four grainy surveillance cameras. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Cathy Sandrich - Casting, Amanda Mackey-Johnson - Casting, Donna Casey - Costume Designer, Jonathan Watson - First Assistant Director, Phil Dupont - First Assistant Director, Greg Zekowski - First Assistant Director, Gary Scott Marcus - First Assistant Director, Mike Figgis - Director, Mike Figgis - Composer (Music Score), Anthony Marinelli - Composer (Music Score), Louise Hammar - Musical Direction/Supervision, Charlotte Malmlof - Production Designer, Mike Figgis - Cinematographer, Tony Cucchiari - Cinematographer, James Wharton O'Keefe - Cinematographer, Patrick Alexander Stewart - Cinematographer, Mike Figgis - Producer, Annie Stewart - Producer, Gary Scott Marcus - Producer, Dustin Bernard - Producer, Jennifer Gentile - Set Designer, Rob Janiger - Sound/Sound Designer, Mike Figgis - Screenwriter, Patrick Dodd - Supervising Sound Editor
The film is constructed from four continuous 90-minute takes that were filmed simultaneously by four cameramen; the screen is divided into quarters and the four shots are shown simultaneously. The film depicts several groups of people in Los Angeles as they interact and conflict while preparing for the shooting of a movie. The dialogue was largely improvised, and the sound mix of the film is designed so that the most significant of the four sequences on screen dominates the soundtrack at any given moment.
The movie was shot on videotape. This was transferred to film for the theatrical release, but the VHS and DVD releases present the original videotape stock.
The film was shot 15 different times over a period of two weeks and Figgis selected the best version for theatrical release; this version was recorded on November 19, 1999, beginning at 3.00 pm. The DVD release includes the first attempt as a bonus feature. Additionally on the DVD release, viewers have access to all audio tracks to allow for custom sound mixing, rather than the mix of the finished film.
The film takes place in and around a film production company office, and involves several interweaving plot threads including: young actress (played by Salma Hayek) who tries to score a screen test from her secret boyfriend, a noted but disillusioned director; meanwhile, her tryst with him is discovered by her girlfriend. The director's wife is seen debating about asking him for a divorce, and meanwhile numerous film industry types pitch ideas for the next big hit film.
A homage to this film can be heard during another of Mike Figgis' films, Hotel, in the first moment the screen is split into four quadrants. The sound of milk being steamed in one quadrant and the sound of an actor tapping beats onto a paperback novel in another quadrant, combine to create a very subtle imitation of the sounds and music heard during the first few minutes in the film Timecode.
