Movie Rave: Timer

Here's yet another surprisingly entertaining film I've seen recently.  I like writing about these kinds of movies because they don't get much exposure when they really should.  Timer is an indie romantic comedy that I had never heard of until I saw it on Netflix Watch Instantly.  It received 4.5 stars, so I decided to give it a try.  I was more than pleasantly surprised.  This movie kept me awake til the wee hours of the morning.

What really caught and kept my interest was the highly original premise of the story.  It's set in a world where a product called the 'timer' is widely in use, similar to how cellphones are right now.  A timer is a device that is installed and injected on a human's wrist.  It detects the length of time - how many days, hours and seconds - that person has until meeting his/her soulmate.  Once the two people meet, the timer beeps, indicating that they have found each other.  It is created to save people time, energy and heartache from being with someone they are ultimately not destined for.

I absolutely loved this idea.  I thought it was such an interesting concept that really makes you think.  In a world filled with timers, divorce rates would completely plummet, children wouldn't have to come from broken families, people wouldn't have to go through so much sadness, confusion and heartache, individuals and households would be much happier, and , in turn, the world in general would just be a much better place to live in.

Or would it really be that simple?  Is there really a person out there that would be the answer to everything?  A coupling of two people that would result to something close to perfection?  Is it just a formula of sorts?  If only this person were with this person, everything would be dandy.  Does this mean that all bad, mediocre, or more than imperfect relationships are the way they are because the two elements simply do not belong to each other?  And what if two people are not soulmates?  Would it still be possible for them to attain an ideal relationship?

These are the kinds of questions I found myself asking while I watched this film.  It's incredibly rare for a romantic comedy to do that to me.  So.. if you love romantic comedies like I do, but are in dire need of something different, definitely check this movie out.