Safety not guaranteed

 Already this year we've seen Looper, the gritty realistic time travel based film in which one man faces his future self. Now imagine Safety not guaranteed as it's younger more playful brother, less convuluted, less dark but a whole lot more meaningful. It's not every day that you see a film similar to this, an indie sci-fi that's more a rom/com with complications. Surrounding the fanatical advert written by an eccentric man, Safety not guaranteed explores the themes of regret, love and happiness without diving in head first.

 Kenneth (Mark Duplass), a seemingly insane 'wannabe scientist' is met by Darius (Aubrey Plaza) after her and her fellow magazine co-workers reply to his advert asking for a time-traveling companion. What may seem to be a rather disjointed narrative proves to form a formidable foundation for the most part however once events unfold and the climax is reached the story finds itself frustratingly tangled. This isn't until however the joyous events of the first hour of the film unfolds bringing heart and perfect comedic moments.

 Being as much a comedy as any coinciding genre portrayed, this film brings some truly hilarious moments that feel relevantly fitting largely provided by the both naturalistic and well executed comedy prowess of Arnau (Karan Soni); Aiding in the films near-perfect tone. Each individual character provides a personal story and a hugely recognisable personality to match, most notably the whole aura of Mark Duplass' character is perfect in making this film what it proves to be, a loving drama with hidden but undoubtedly present messages. Although vague the message is relevant and meaningful once touched upon however it tends to be seemingly apprehensive in doing so, tentatively skimming the surface but rarely delving in deep. This led to a lot of frustrating scenes that not only felt pointless but were also unnecessarily convoluted, giving the whole film a misty facade that obscured the otherwise pleasant view. These scenes almost inevitably concluded in a disappointing finale that did near to nothing to justify the previous hours of film making it all seem a little irrelevant as it ended on a pitiful, nonsensical thud rather than a meaningful elegant close .

 With the attempt and ambition clearly present Safety not guaranteed does a brilliant job in creating a realistic and heartfelt romance but fails to withstand it's success as the film draws on. For the most part it is a brilliant film, there were just too many short moments containing irrelevant major aspects making it seem more audaciously flashy rather than lovingly niche. Enjoyment is guaranteed, a consistent plot however is not.

7.5/10- A fun and reflective rom/com if unnecessarily contrived and nonsensical.

Calum Russell