Needle in a Timestack | Film Review

If the possibility to travel through time were a scientific certainty, what lengths would you go to ensure a life with the person you love? Would you alter past mistakes, perhaps talk your past self out of future decisions, how about hurt another person who was threatening your relationship? Maybe even sabotage someone else’s chance at happiness simply to set yourself up with the person you believe you are destined to spend your life with? These are a few of the difficult, pointed questions posed within John Ridley’s sci-fi infused drama, Needle in a Timestack.

It is the not-too-distant future, and time travel has evolved into yet one more thrill the rich engage in to keep themselves entertained. The prospect of heading back in time has even been regulated, with laws in place to ensure an overzealous Jeff Bezos-type does not wander into the Ice Age and intentionally stomp a random butterfly. Because we all know he would. Time travel in this world is almost an all-inclusive vacation: anyone can do it, but it is most certainly going to cost you.

Nick and Janine (Leslie Odom, Jr. and Cynthia Erivo) are the picture of exquisite happiness. Nick often catches himself softly staring at Janine from afar, and both actors are capable of that instant connection the audience needs to draw us into their story immediately. Though they are obviously in bliss, there is trouble afoot. Nick believes that Janine’s rich ex-husband Tommy (Orlando Bloom) has been dabbling in the past, including using Alex (Freida Pinto), Nick’s college girlfriend, in an effort to win back the wonderful Janine. Can Nick and Janine defeat the forces against them?

Needle in a Timestack is a fascinating concept, though a mouthful of a title. Adapted from Robert Silverberg’s short story, writer and director John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) is not interested in a razzle-dazzle science fiction opus. This is not centered around special effects or bombastic set-pieces. If anything, the time travel aspect is truly more of a backdrop, which I personally adored. Far too often in films like these, the mechanics bog down the emotional core of our characters and dilute the experience as a whole. Though we might see a visual ripple to signify a time-jaunt has been completed, for the majority of the film Ridley has his camera affixed squarely on his characters.

Instead of the mechanisms of time, John Ridley’s film focuses on happenstance and connections. Relationships, friendships, family demands. These are the complications of life, and Ridley seems intrigued by how minor decisions in one’s life can directly affect the outcome of so many other people, including those you love. There are immense options narratively here, and my one issue with the film is that it could have gone so much deeper in terms of the complications time travel could wreck on every day relationships, though it is a minor quibble.

It is a deeply thought-provoking idea we rarely take the time to ponder: what if I kept my ex from finding her true soul mate, or maybe if I had handled that one situation differently the result would be greatly altered. We all have at least one relationship we wish we could fix, so is Tommy really such a bad person? Is love truly a circle, or are there infinite possibilities? Though Ridley did not go quite as soul crushing as this formula could lend itself to, I was left with a plethora of thoughts and concepts as the end credits rolled by.

When there is a distinct lack of flash, you need solid actors to center your film around, and Ridley has us covered. Leslie Odom, Jr. keeps the film grounded as the center piece to this puzzle, and he continues to inspire as an actor. Nick is our eyes into this world, the beating heart of the film, and as he remembers and forgets various avenues of his life, his wounded being and painful desperation for meaning tearfully infects each and every character around him.

Cynthia Erivo is underutilized, but it takes no less than one second of screen time to completely understand Nick and Tommy’s borderline obsession with Janine.  Likewise, Freida Pinto’s Alex takes a beat to find her way into the script, yet once she does, it is awfully difficult not to root for her character as well, making for one complicated decision after another for our hero, Nick.

As Tommy, Orlando Bloom is given the unenviable task of portraying the implied antagonist of sorts. Tommy is a character worth spending a bit more time trying to empathize with as Needle approaches its conclusion, and Bloom’s entire demeanor does a wonderful job of conveying a multilayered man who is not evil or malicious, but simply hurting. Much in the same way all of us have been tortured by love at some point in our lives.

Needle in a Timestack leaves you with much to contemplate, as well as a bit of feeling underserved since the concept here is so wide open in terms of possibilities. It was a film that forced me to confront my own past and actions I personally have taken in my own relationships, something that rarely happens with today’s slate of cinematic offerings. That fact alone warrants a recommendation, even amidst this content-heavy climate. And let’s face it, none of us have time to waste.