The Timeslip (2011)
Directed by: Jonathan Chance, Richard Chance
Written by: Jonathan Chance, Richard Chance
Starring: Jonathan Chance, Michael Himsworth, Richard Chance, Stuart Armitage
The Timeslip (2011)
Directed by Richard Chance and Jonathan Chance
Written by Richard Chance and Jonathan Chance
Starring Richard Chance, Michael Himsworth, Jonathan Chance and Stuart Armitage
The short film, The Timeslip, opens up in the most crowded place in the UK – the London Underground. We follow the nameless male lead (Richard Chance) as he disembarks from the train at Liverpool Street station and makes his way through the hustle and bustle of a busy weekday in the capital of England. London, like many cities, is a place that stops for no-one and even the masses of people on the street are too busy commuting to work to acknowledge their surroundings or each other. So when our man misses his opportunity to cross the road at the pelican crossing whilst traffic is stopped, he doesn’t notice and blindly crosses anyway and is hit by an unseen vehicle. In a flash he stumbles down a grassy hill into foliage and loses consciousness. He awakens to an eerie silence, where only the wind blowing in the trees can be heard. No roars of car engines, no people, no sirens. He looks around to find that he’s alone in a woodland. Still dressed in his sharp cut suit and armed with his black briefcase, he wanders aimlessly around the woods, looking for a sign of the busy urban sprawl he calls home. Panicking, he reaches for his mobile phone in his jacket pocket and attempts to contact a friend, but with no signal and no-one to receive a call, his efforts are in vain. As day turns to night and with no signs of escaping this peaceful countryside, he manages to light a fire after a previously failed attempt. Drifting off to sleep as the darkness creeps in, he soon realises he’s not alone as the unnerving howls echo throughout the tranquil woodland. But it’s not just wolves he should be worried about….
The Timeslip is an inventive 15 minute sci-fi thriller that explores how modern day man would fare (or not) in the past or in a world without technology and home comforts. It actually saddens me because this short is an accurate look at how disillusioned some people are and how they don’t appreciate the fact they are alive and are just so engrossed in the next iPhone that is being released. Gone are all our primal skills, our ability to hunt and survive and fend for ourselves. In cities and towns around the world, not just London, there are people who ignore everyone around them, they stop for no-one and are just concentrating on where they need to go. Life is too busy that they don’t see the bigger picture. Some people work to fund their extravagent lifestyles and luxury gadgets and this film explores that. It’s quite funny because imagine plonking people of today in the middle of a forest with no technology. What would they do without Twitter, Facebook, or, God forbid, the internet?! Whilst this short film toys with the idea how a modern man cannot cope and finds himself out of his depth in rural areas without technology, the questions it raises leads onto an amazing discussion that I could talk about for hours, but that’s for another time.
One of the most beautiful things about The Timeslip is the locations. The woodlands and the London underground and city skyline are as much a character as Richard Chance’s Modern Man. Thankfully, the Chance Bros understand this and relish capturing the chaotic madness of the city of London and the contrasticing idealic tranquil forest. Where many would welcome the peace and quiet, the Modern Man squirms as he adjusts to the lack of traffic noise. The woodland location is perfect, with a variety of foliage and terrain for the Man to navigate. The sun and moon are filmed to effect to alert the viewer of the passing hours that the man is ‘trapped’ in this ‘alien’ place.
Richard Chance takes the lead role as the Man and whilst hardly muttering a word, his actions and facial expressions do the talking. He’s a smart business man and he’s on his way to work, possibly to a very important meeting, when he time travels to a time before London, as we know it, existed. Think TV Series Life On Mars but instead of the 70’s, the Modern Man awakens in a forest pre-civilisation.
Of course, the man isn’t the only inhabitant in the woods. The other ‘residents’ are suitably attired and the make-up and visual FX on display is pretty convincing considering the low budget. The audio too is subtle and used to great effect in the film, particularly in the early London scenes and those later on in the film. Like the Modern Man, the other characters in the film don’t say much but their actions and the environment they’re in speaks louder than words ever could.
The Chance Bros have struck a chord with their deconstruction of modern times. Whether purposely or incidental, this little film will leave you talking for hours about the time, place and the technology we live in and use. It comes as no surprise that The Timeslip has been awarded Best Sci-Fi Film at The Geek Independent Film Festival as well as being accepted at 10 other film festivals with more yet to be confirmed.
The Timeslip is a thoroughly engaging, thought provoking sci-fi thriller that will question your existence in the world.
For more info on The Timeslip and the Chance Brothers work, visit www.chance-encounters.org
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