...serves as a nice springboard for auteur Michael "A Handful of Pennies" Peake's burgeoning career, although I have to agree with the first commentator here that it could have benefited from some tightening up for effect. Its production values belie its meager budget, certainly, and the acting is mostly up to snuff, primarily that of Peake, along with the camera work, lighting, etc. What nags at me after several viewings is what feels like an attempt to stretch things out a bit too far. Cases in point: both the scene with the protagonist's boss and the one with his concerned sister feel too much like padding. Likewise, the suggested relationship between the lovelorn lead and the co-worker who serves as Igor to his mad professor feels undeveloped; this is an "idea" tale that really only needs one character to focus on. The lady's arc comes off as inessential, if not outright distracting. I may be missing some thematic undertones, but if so, I wish they'd been made stronger.
Spoiler alert: I'm going to talk about the core paradox presented in the film.
Scripting faults to the side (and this is, of course, all highly subjective), "Jacob's Paradox" still presents a thought-provoking tale. Guy goes back in time to save the wife who died when he was late getting home. He shanghais his earlier self just before the delaying incident that meant his wife's death, but when he manages to defeat the intruder who would have killed her, he ends up shot to death by her. Thus, a paradox: his earlier self, once freed, will presumably continue on in life with his wife by his side, thereby having no reason to build a time machine to come back to save her. If that's true, then where did his later self who saved her come from? Or will he find himself somehow forced into a loop of forever coming back to save her? Now there's a fate worse than death to contemplate, and perhaps a tack "Jacob's Paradox" might have explored to better effect than the one it took.
Regardless, Peake's maiden directorial effort is an auspicious one, and I look forward to the feature-length he and his crew are soon to release. I commend "Jacob's Paradox" to your attention as a solid introduction to this talented company.
Spoiler alert: I'm going to talk about the core paradox presented in the film.
Scripting faults to the side (and this is, of course, all highly subjective), "Jacob's Paradox" still presents a thought-provoking tale. Guy goes back in time to save the wife who died when he was late getting home. He shanghais his earlier self just before the delaying incident that meant his wife's death, but when he manages to defeat the intruder who would have killed her, he ends up shot to death by her. Thus, a paradox: his earlier self, once freed, will presumably continue on in life with his wife by his side, thereby having no reason to build a time machine to come back to save her. If that's true, then where did his later self who saved her come from? Or will he find himself somehow forced into a loop of forever coming back to save her? Now there's a fate worse than death to contemplate, and perhaps a tack "Jacob's Paradox" might have explored to better effect than the one it took.
Regardless, Peake's maiden directorial effort is an auspicious one, and I look forward to the feature-length he and his crew are soon to release. I commend "Jacob's Paradox" to your attention as a solid introduction to this talented company.
