Safety Not Guaranteed - Quirky sci-fi love story

If I said that a film is about 'time travel,' many people may think about super-fast DeLoreon cars or bright white flashes of light, depositing naked cyborgs in the middle of Los Angeles.  However, despite being firmly about popping back in time to right various (perceived) 'wrongs', ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’ doesn't even come close to having any of those tropes.  Nor does it even fall back on the old one about how messing with the past will destroy/distort the future.

It's about three journalists who set out to investigate a man who’s seeking a partner to accompany him back in time.  Of course they set out looking for ways to ridicule this 'clearly dilutional' man, but, during their investigation, slowly come to terms with the knowledge that he may not be - quite - as crazy as they first thought.  And, instead of an 'effects-heavy' action/sci-fi epic, what follows is a slow-burning love story between the female journalist and the man who claims to have the ability to go back to the past.

It’s all very understated. Like I say, there are no fancy special effects or major A-list actors who could elevate this film to a big commercial hit. However, it plays to its strengths. It’s never so outrageous that it’s an out and out comedy. And it’s never so futuristic that it’s an out and out science fiction piece.

It’s more of a character study where all the four main players go on their various paths and we see how this experience changes them.  Even the two 'lesser' lead actors aren't completely redundant and have their 'arcs.' It's basically about human nature in very odd circumstances. And it works, just. So don’t expect anything too funny, or too out there. Just sit back and watch something pretty gentle and sweet really where people actually grow in a film which  has a surprisingly short run-time.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that