This film concerns a science experiment gone horribly wrong; it makes a newborn little girl grow uncontrollably fast, and the film revolves around the two main characters, who are science students, trying to stop it, to stun her growth, or at least bring it down to a more sensible rate. The plot is pretty good; it starts off a little slow, but then it picks up in pace for the rest of the film. You never lose interest, even though it is not an original idea, and it is a tad predictable, especially the ending. The acting is good, especially for a TV movie. I was very impressed with the child actors, how well they performed. The characters are well-written and credible, especially the character of the constantly growing girl. There wasn't a scene where I couldn't understand her actions. The effects, even though there aren't many of them, are well-made, considering the budget the film must have had. The editing and cinematography is mostly nothing special, but there are a few exceptions which are fairly impressive, at least for a made-for-TV movie. All in all, a pretty good movie built from a very good basic idea. I recommend it to most fans of sci-fi thrillers and anyone who finds the subject interesting. 7/10
5 Reviews
Science gone wrong
Rob-7720 December 2001
To be honest, I wasn't paying a great deal of attention at the beginning of this made-for-TV movie. I had other things on my mind, dinner, work etc.
However, as the movie progressed and our protagonist was faced with some real issues (test drugs on animals to save a loved one etc) I began to pay more and more attention to the actors. As a previous reviewer has commented, the plot is not new. Mary Shelly still does it best. But, I did enjoy the development of the young lady Jasmine from your girl, to beautiful woman and beyond...
This tv-movie was never going to change the world, but it'd recommend it if you are between meals and need a change of pace. 7 out of 10.
However, as the movie progressed and our protagonist was faced with some real issues (test drugs on animals to save a loved one etc) I began to pay more and more attention to the actors. As a previous reviewer has commented, the plot is not new. Mary Shelly still does it best. But, I did enjoy the development of the young lady Jasmine from your girl, to beautiful woman and beyond...
This tv-movie was never going to change the world, but it'd recommend it if you are between meals and need a change of pace. 7 out of 10.
Better than it should be
Leofwine_draca14 June 2015
Warning: Spoilers
LIFE IN A DAY is a Canadian TV movie that takes a science fiction principle and runs with it; unfortunately for us, the focus of the running time turns out to be on romance and melodrama rather than thrills and spills. So by all accounts I should hate what I'm seeing here. Yet I didn't. So what gives?
The story is straightforward: a scientific experiment results in a girl being born with remarkable mental powers and an accelerated growth rate that sees her reach adulthood before the end of the first day. Her mentor, who finds himself falling in love with her, must figure out a way to stop the rapidly ageing process, knowing that she'll soon die if he doesn't.
Well, LIFE IN A DAY works precisely because it's a tragedy. There are no happy endings here, just a remorseless inevitability towards the outcome, and that sense of foreboding and impending doom is enough to make the film engaging. It's certainly no classic, with indifferent acting and poor production values (ever the bane of made-for-TV movies), but somehow I found it quietly gripping and the ending even moving.
The story is straightforward: a scientific experiment results in a girl being born with remarkable mental powers and an accelerated growth rate that sees her reach adulthood before the end of the first day. Her mentor, who finds himself falling in love with her, must figure out a way to stop the rapidly ageing process, knowing that she'll soon die if he doesn't.
Well, LIFE IN A DAY works precisely because it's a tragedy. There are no happy endings here, just a remorseless inevitability towards the outcome, and that sense of foreboding and impending doom is enough to make the film engaging. It's certainly no classic, with indifferent acting and poor production values (ever the bane of made-for-TV movies), but somehow I found it quietly gripping and the ending even moving.
Solidly enjoyable TV sci-fi
Red-Barracuda23 October 2014
This is an enjoyable made-for-TV sci-fi movie. It concerns that old staple of the genre - experiments going awry. In this case we have a new experimental drug that induces pregnancy to incredibly fast speeds. It is illegally used on a woman and she then violently births a baby girl. The child is left secretly in a young whiz kid scientist's lab and she then proceeds to grow at an alarming rate, living her life-cycle over the course of one day. The scientist subsequently tries to avert the aging process, while falling in love with her.
The idea of this film is very simple indeed but its simplicity is used well to tell a straightforward, yet interesting story. As is to be expected, there are immoral, greedy business people behind the use of the drug and this creates a conflict for the good characters to overcome. But much more interesting was the moral dilemma that the young scientist has to deal with, in having the utterly unnatural situation of becoming attracted to the young woman who a few hours ago he was effectively fathering. What helps is that it's all acted and scripted well. There are obviously a few aspects that stretch credibility a little – such as it is quite convenient for the film that the girl seems to go through her very attractive young woman stage for a seemingly disproportionately longer period than any other part of her life cycle! But, in all honesty, this sort of stuff doesn't matter very much at all and never gets in the way of the themes and dramatics that the film is most interested in presenting.
The idea of this film is very simple indeed but its simplicity is used well to tell a straightforward, yet interesting story. As is to be expected, there are immoral, greedy business people behind the use of the drug and this creates a conflict for the good characters to overcome. But much more interesting was the moral dilemma that the young scientist has to deal with, in having the utterly unnatural situation of becoming attracted to the young woman who a few hours ago he was effectively fathering. What helps is that it's all acted and scripted well. There are obviously a few aspects that stretch credibility a little – such as it is quite convenient for the film that the girl seems to go through her very attractive young woman stage for a seemingly disproportionately longer period than any other part of her life cycle! But, in all honesty, this sort of stuff doesn't matter very much at all and never gets in the way of the themes and dramatics that the film is most interested in presenting.
Glowing review :)
ASD828 January 2000
This was a movie I decided to watch on a whim after seeing Michael Goorjian's name on the summary. Though not really an original plot, the script was well-written and Goorjian played the whiz-kid scientist beautifully. The movie moved slowly at the beginning and the ending was predictable, but the excellent performance of the actors made it thoroughly enjoyable. I don't expect this to be rereleased, but if it is, you can expect me to set the VCR for this one!
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