User reviews

An ambitious little Australian film that seemingly came to existence from much persistence from its creator Hugh Sullivan and star Josh McConville, The Infinite Man is a film the overcomes it's obvious budget limitations to become an interesting/unique love story that while always watchable is sadly forgettable and in the end acts as a product that you can see will be inspiration for a Hollywood remake, such is the potential here.

A hybrid of both the romantic comedy genre and the DIY time travel projects like Primer etc. The Infinite Man never really bothers to explain its science as it's more concerned with getting you engaged in the harsh realities of McConville's Dean's deep seeded and undying love for his girlfriend and sometimes ex-girlfriend Lana as played by Marshall. Dean is an OCD suffering socially inept man who struggles to maintain his sanity when the going gets tough while Lana is a woman who knows what she wants yet is unsure if she can get that from Dean. It's an interestingly played out romantic tale between the two as Dean try's to accustom himself to a life without Lana and then as the time traveling kicks in try's to realise what Lana needs from him, whatever being of himself is currently courting her. It's an intriguing prospect and a not always believable one, the more you think the more the story falls apart but these are usual staples of the time travel genre that aren't enough to completely derail what elements the film does right.

The film features a witty and often inventive script and while McConville and Marshall perform amiable the star of this show is Australian acting staple Alex Dimitriades as Lana's ex Terry. Terry is a self-obsessed disgraced Olympian that carries his old javelin in the boot of his car (the javelin is the star of one of the films funniest scenes) and his appearance on screen is always a welcome addition to a film that benefits from his industry experience. The appearance of Dimitriades is what highlights the Infinite Man's largest weaknesses, McConville and Marshall while good just don't possess enough natural charm to really wow us into caring, if we to feel in love with these humans then The Infinite Man could of literally become anything including a sci-fi comedy classic.

There is a lot of fine meditation on life, love and friendship on display in The Infinite Man and there can be little doubting of the care taken to get this story made for the big screen and full credit for all involved for this. The film can become a frustrating experience as you feel many a time that it's about to break the shackles and become something truly memorable but as the initially wonderful then sadly generically ended finale fades from view, you realise that greatness was close yet so very far away. Bring on the hopefully impending and improved remake I say.

2 and a half javelins out of 5

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With a cast of 3 and barely more than one location, first-time feature filmmaker (and writer), Hugh Sullivan, has woven together a topsy-turvy time travel film that falls somewhere between 'Primer' and 'Groundhog Day'. The initial impression is of pure comedy with time travel as the incidental extreme that the main character (played by a fantastic Josh McConville) is willing to go to in order to keep control over his love life. The result is a complex, infinite loop that wowed me with every twist and turn. Though never stepping over the line into 'Thriller' or serious 'Science-Fiction', the logic of the storyline is mathematically maddening and the film does consider some truly heavy existential ideas like the result of jealousy on relationships and how fear of change and the desire to control others is almost always counterproductive. Ultimately, the film is just a ton of fun and, though it perfectly fits within the supposed film-festival mold, even the most novice of movie-goers would get a huge kick out of this one.

The production was of a very high level, excellent sound and visuals- nice cinematography. Clearly a lot of thought went into the script, but in its quest to be intellectual, sacrificed some of the humanity of the characters. A lot of the quirks of the characters, the way the male lead ran, the vintage clothes, the references to Greek mythology and tantra all seemed very forced.

Important philosophical questions about identity, why we love someone at different times in our lives and why/when we should give up on someone were partially raised but never really explored. By the end of it, I felt like a lot had happened, but I didn't care about the characters at all - I hardly got to know them. All in all, it felt like it was all style and little substance.

Now this here is one a trip of a movie. Made locally in my home state of South Australia, it does a fantastic job of managing a meager budget, using basically one or two sets, and only three actors. And that is all that is needed. I had read about this making the round at festivals and getting almost universal praise, and I can certainly see why. This is definitely not your average time travel movie, nor is it very sappy or sentimental at all, despite the romantic reasons driving the film.

This romantic basis becomes not so romantic as the main character, a fantastic Josh McConville (Dean), plays an obsessive control freak, intent on recreating a perfect holiday from a year previous for his partner Lana. Lana scoffs at the idea and comments on Dean's obsessive and controlling nature, but seeing his invention, she becomes intrigued. From here, the story travels into unexplored territory regarding time-travel flicks, as when the characters begin to time-travel, they start to see.. versions of themselves, from the past.. or the future. The original couple witness themselves repeating the same dialogue from the start of the film, but here, they are watching nervously from a window in the abandoned hotel that serves as the film's main set. Once more and more versions of Dean start to appear, it reeeally starts to become a trip, and somewhat of a puzzle.

Dean starts becomes jealous of… himself, albeit himself from the future, as each different Dean has his own traits, and each time he time-travels he becomes more confident, leading to more jealousy from the original Dean. The way McConville plays these parts is particularly noteworthy, as he essentially plays three or four characters.. as the same person. The jealously he shows towards other versions of himself is quite hilarious. In fact, there were many laughs along these lines.

Dean is nerdy – he built this machine – and he is also prone to crying; fodder for more laughter. A sudden twist occurs with the sudden appearance of Dean's partner's ex-lover, who wants his girl back. This self-obsessed, brilliantly conceived character is yet more food for laughs. He is an Aussie Greek who is rather amusingly obsessed with his Olympic level javelin skills (a javelin he carries with him where ever he goes, it would seem), and of his proud Greek heritage. He considers himself a Greek god… despite the fact that he isn't actually Greek. Despite dressing, acting, and looking Greek. What makes his character really work is that he is essentially the polar opposite to Dean, leaving Lana unsure of the man she wants to be with.

With unpredictable scenes following unpredictable scenes, this is really a movie that forces you to think, while laughing, and feeling for Dean's character. It also shows the consequences of trying to control everything, even to the point of time travel. It also subtly comments on two very different men, and how they interact with each other, as well as the love of both their lives. Lana is faced with a choice, but how can she know which Dean is the one she first arrived with at the abandoned hotel? And does she want her old spark's bravado, or Dean's brains? I really enjoyed this one, apart from the ending, which felt abrupt and had me thinking "nooo! this can't be it!". I thought they could have played the funny and intriguing concept a little further, but I can definitely see why this got the attention it did. It is a fascinating puzzle of a movie, one which I want to see again as soon as I can so I can piece it all together. It is certainly one of those movies that thoroughly deserves multiple viewings, despite its low-budget, a single set, and three actors. It is this economic filmmaking that makes the film a real treat, as the limited budget does not limit the movie at all, in fact, a limited budget almost always breeds creativity in my opinion. That is certainly the case here, as Hugh Sullivan has created a gem of a movie, intensely unique and praised around the world. If only it got more recognition in the state in was filmed in.

4/5 – Filled with laughs and intrigue, but one can't help that the ending was lack-lustre and very abrupt. Apart from this minor gripe, this is a fantastic film. Highly recommended.

Time travel element interesting, but the plot is just not sustainable, and ultimately the film becomes quite boring about 30 minutes into it. I guess this hit the spot for some viewers, but fell very flat for me.

You don't need top end Hollywood actors to make a great movie. This was very cleverly written and well acted.

Saw this at the Leiden Film Festival 2014 (LIFF). What will you do when given the chance to "repair" a failed romantic weekend by changing the past and reliving those days again in a new setup?? Though I found the end result disappointing, there were several positive elements in this film. Firstly, it did not waste resources in the making: 3 actors in total, a single location, and without a gadget overload. Secondly, the deserted sea resort offered an excellent décor with ample opportunities for seeing things from different angles, running parallel scenes in various rooms, and letting variants from the protagonists meet, or even see one copy meeting another. Thirdly, the successive chapters were clearly labeled "xx years later", a great help while trying to follow the story line while it developed in (for me) mysterious ways.

On the negative side, I found the movie mildly interesting overall, not thought provoking in any way, no mind bending time paradoxes, at least none that I felt as challenging. The role of the gadgets (looked like EEG headsets, as used in hospital) was poorly explained, and I saw no one actually wearing them, so it is not clear what their purpose was in the proceedings. Devices and schematics might have looked highly technical for the average layman, but were in fact outdated for at least 30 years. The protagonists did not interest me at all, so I was not pulled in by the turn of events that this movie presented to us. It merely looked a bit unnatural, like finding a way to turn a basically good idea into a feature length movie without having enough material to fill the allotted time.

All in all, I got less than what I had expected. (And I had serious problems to stay awake. It may not be completely the film's fault, but anyway it was a fact.) My fault may be that I've read too many SF books in my life, and usually observe that movies, within their limited time frame, cannot present a consistent plot without loop holes in the time travel section. For some reason, books prove to be a better place to design a believable setup with richer details. Anyway, the idea behind this film was fresh, the décor was very well chosen, the actors were casted well, and all did their best to cope with the script. Yet, I'm still surprised about the many good things other reviewers found in this film, all of which I regrettably overlooked (so it seems).

An Australian micro-budget indie feature that as well as succeeding in taking the science, out of fiction, manages simultaneously to take the travel out of time. We are thus presented with a cheap hybrid, borrowing themes and situations from better films such as Time Crimes, Multiplicity and Groundhog Day using virtually the one desert location (ludicrously masquerading as some supposedly attractive beach tourist resort), the one set and a cast of three. But besides the very obvious budget limitations, the film fails, due to the unattractiveness of the characters and the plain unbelievability of the story.

Even pure fantasies such as the afore-mentioned Groundhog Day, have elements founded in reality, to which we can easily relate and empathise. The Infinite Man bothers with none of this. Every thing just looks and sounds fake from the "resort" location, to the "scientist" in name only, to the (wait for it) homicidally violent, ex-olympian. The cringeworthy dialogue and cheesy, even creepy "romantic sub-plot, does absolutely nothing to alleviate the film's clear failings. However, almost mercifully, the short running time, (which for this writer couldn't come quick enough) does.

A very funny independent film with an excellent performance by Josh McConville leading a sparse cast of three in his pursuit of love. The story centres on the futility of pursuing perfection and the folly of fabricating happiness, with a slight, masterful and touching subtext of the trials of escaping mental illness's obsessions. This clever and tightly written sleeper gem demands, with a bit of mental gymnastics, the attention of any lazy viewers to be fully satisfying.

I really wanted to give it a go. An indie Aussie sci-fi comedy. But the characters are so flat, the dialogue so flat, the location so ridiculous, and the plot beyond ridiculous.

Did I say NOT funny!

This is a really fun comedic unique time travel movie. Seeing scenes at different angles at the same time gives clarity to the current confusing situation, then you are met with a new confusing situation and then rinse repeat, it may sound tedious but it is stimulating to see as each scenario is different than the last. It is a present wrapped in many layers. The main character is the core of this film, his personality becomes more prevalent as the movie goes on, whether he's likable or not is hard to tell but fascinating none the less. I don't think this movie is like ground hog day at all as others have suggested, in that movie the main character changes the past, in this movie the main character writes his own future unknowingly. Overall it has an excellent cast and excellent writing. I highly recommend viewing.

You can't engage anybody with boring and unrealistic characters and a script as flat as the desert where it loops for ever. I was interested in the film because I read about it here and when I found it on youtube, I decided to ignore the negative reviews and watch it. Bad choice. I did manage to make it to the very end, but only because of two reasons, the actress is gorgeous and you ube allows you to watch it at double the speed. Otherwise, there's no way I would have put myself through it.

For once I can agree with the extremely negative reviews, it's just an incredibly unwatchable movie. I got bored after exactly ten minutes and that feeling never went away. I'd rather watch paint dry than watching this abomination again. After ten minutes it's impossible to understand anything of this story. Well maybe it is but I for sure didn't want to understand it anymore. It's just too boring, too complicated, just not interesting at all. I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought this piece of garbage was unwatchable. The high ratings it gets on here are totally unjustified, don't let those ratings fool you, avoid at all costs.

This is a primer copycat, its very well executed and has the benefit of being amusing.

Acting is on point, especially the villainous Terry, but you have to wait the second half to understand what you thought were gaping plot holes. This is very different from other low fi sci-fi flicks pride themselves on following their own rules from the beginning end (primer, timeliness, triangle, etc).

The two lead characters are also fairly unlikeable at first, especially the female lead who seem to have even less self respect than the male one. This sort itself out mid flick, but don't expect the level of insane detail found in say, villeneuves' 'enemy'.

My biggest and only gripe are the inconsistencies in object purposes, as for example the rmemory Helmet becomes a time machine of sorts 10 minutes

I'm surprised this is not more popular.

This mostly comedic film about a sweet, nerdy and very smart control freak of a man trying to create the perfect weekend for him and his girlfriend that doesn't quite work out so well due to the appearance of a long ago boyfriend. So, smarty pants here invents a time traveling mechanism to try to correct all that went wrong that weekend. I loved the opening credits of this film that appeared to be similar to a 1950s horror film. I also found it humorous with an appealing cast, especially the lead, Josh McConville. Unfortunately, this is a difficult film to follow as unlike most time traveling movies we start getting multiple versions of the three characters in this film who start running into each other with the lead trying desperately to correct the situation. This is a little tricky to keep up with who's who and as likable as it wishes to be, despite the short running time, it starts to become ponderous and a little bit of a mess. There are worse ways to spend 85 minutes.

The best mind bending and mind blowing time travel movie I'll ever saw,watch carefully to get full enjoyment of that movie,don't forget to watch.

I had bookmarked this movie a long time ago and had completely forgotten about its existence. I probably thought back then that I liked the premise - time travel has always fascinated me because it gave food for thoughts, to think about something that has already happened and if it was really meant to be or up for a small change - but The infinite man does not use this premise to the fullest, as it is not a sci-fi drama but rather a plain simple romance story.

One location and three actors could make a great deal out of circumstances but I didn't see any true development in any of the characters and the plot itself. What is meant to be will eventually be a memory, and it cannot be changed - Dean knows it but still rushes in to save the day and try to make it better but why? The movie has given me absolutely no reason to empathize with such a weak and whiney person as Dean; his actions are weird and the narrative could not have been more far-fetched and unrealistic so there goes most of The infinite man's hopes to be a decent movie.

Buy I would not say that this is a bad one either - it's fun to observe the madness and sink in with the flow of the movie, to tell one Dean from the other, to look for clues and figure out what has happened, what's about to happen and what is not. In the end, he only did what he did out of love, sloppy but kind of romantic anyhow and I liked it but not enough to think about long afterwards.

People watch movies to escape the drama in their own lives, so a movie where the main characters are too in their head arguing, makes no sense at all for entertainment.

The drama should be based on de-escalation in order to save what matters to them (relationships, objectives), but the writing is based on hero-dunking amplification whilst acting the biggest victim... the actors can't portray broken behaviour like that so they also come across detached and fake...

The movie could be about anything, but who would stay watching that to find out...