Counter Clockwise – A Great Slice of Indie Sci-Fi
Counter Clockwise is a fantastic slice of independent science-fiction mixed with some dark-comedy and simmered to just the right temperature. This project manages to serve up an interesting and intelligent story that left my appetite for movies more than satisfied.
What’s It All About?
Ethan, a scientist, is working on a teleportation device. After testing the machine on his dog he gets unusual results, his dog does not reappear for 5 hours. He decides to test the machine on himself and is transported six months into the future where his world has been turned upside down and his wife and sister have been murdered. He discovers he has inadvertently built a time-travelling machine. The only way to save his future is to go back and investigate his past to uncover the mystery surrounding their deaths.
My Opinion
I think we all love a good sci-fi movie and you don’t get more science fiction than time-travel. I found myself intrigued from the opening scenes inside the lab right until the credits began to roll. This independent film did a fine job at producing a compelling tale that was both visually interesting and mentally stimulating.
Director George Moïse told a fantastic tale, one he wrote with Walter Moïse and turned into a screenplay alongside lead actor Michael Kopelow. The story is intelligent enough to keep things from us until we need to know them and spoon-feeds us details about the events. In a time-travel story it is very easy for the timeline to get messy but George keeps a firm grip on the plot-lines so we are always aware of what is happening, why it is happening and what the cause is. A great example of this is the sequence of events that unfold outside the shop where Ethan buys his bottle of wine.
The story really takes advantage of the time travel elements and it was fun to watch them unfold, especially Ethan’s path through time and the elements of ’cause & effect’. I felt this is where this movie really shines as the story becomes more intricate weaving its way through time. I felt as though we were left guessing right up until the final scenes in the movie when the jigsaw pieces finally began to fit together.
I loved the cinematography used in the film. At times it was almost like watching an episode of ‘The X-Files’ with the quirky camera angles and obscure lighting keeping things visually pleasing. The opening scene of the movie begins almost as if from the dogs eye-view. The dog, Charlie, is the first character we are introduced to and we follow the action from his point-of-view through the lab. It is these few moments that drag us in and introduce us to Ethan and his lab partner. In fact there were quite few scenes throughout the film that took this view. Another great instance of this was when Ethan was in the shop buying his wine, the shots gave us a different and interesting view. We are also treated to a some extremely well-lit scenes, making great use of the lighting in different ways make these scenes more dramatic, mysterious or tense. While Ethan is being questioned in the police station is a fine example, another is when Ethan gets interrogated by his former boss, Roman, who wants to know about the teleporter
We were also given some excellent set production and design. I loved the set for the lab. The mixture of colors and machines gave it a retro feel. Even the time travel machine looked like it had come out of the 80’s. His interrogation by corporate head, Roman in a room where the walls are all covered in newspapers is both interesting and intriguing.
George Moïse also needs to be commended for the visual effects, designs and animations. I thought he did a fantastic job with this. In particular the animation sequences for the teleporter/time machine. I loved the sequences the computer screens went through. Again, this had a real nostalgic feel to it and felt like something that would not be out-of-place on ‘Tron’. The 3D wire-frame of the teleporter was fantastic.
Notable Cast
Michael Kopelow played Ethan. I really enjoyed Michael’s performance as the awkward scientist. His portrayal of Ethan really showed his awkwardness and detachment from general society. Michael looked the part of the nerdy independent scientist as a slightly unkempt look presented us with an odd character. He seemed to become detached from emotions at times which I thought was an excellent fit for the character. During more tense scenes we saw Michael raise his game and looked clearly terrified at times. A Fantastic performance.
Frank Simms played Roman, the ego-maniac head of Recubian. His volatile and off-the-wall character was brilliant. His ability to fly off-the-wall and lose his temper at any moment was great. I loved this temperamental character and Frank seemed to as well, he looked like he relished this role giving an exceptional performance. The character was also the exact opposite of the unemotional Ethan which was a great contrast and very refreshing on-screen giving a good balance of personalities overall.
Joy Rinaldi played Estella, Ethan’s Mom. I really enjoyed the character of Estella, she was loud, emotional and a lot of fun. Joy put a lot of heart into the character and gave us a terrific performance. Although her screen time was brief it was a memorable one.
Bruno Amato played Hank. This is another character who made a brief appearance in the movie but it was definitely a memorable one. Bruno has a menacing look about him that really fit the character well.
The Verdict
Overall I really enjoyed this movie and had a lot of fun with it. The story was engaging and well-written, the camera work was quirky and interesting, and the set designs, visual effects and production values were all to a very high standard. We were treated to some excellent performances by a strong cast with Michael Kopelow and Frank Simms both standing out.
On reflection of this movie I think it would have been nice to have a little bit more back story about the two companies, Syndicate Red and Recubian trying to get hold of Ethan’s technology. I felt that when they were first mentioned about half way through the movie I got the “Who are they?” feeling. A little information about these companies or a short introduction to them prior to the time-travel shenanigans would have really helped to set them up.
