Safety Not Guaranteed

 

Starring;

Aubrey Plaza

Mark Duplass

Jake Johnson

Karan Soni

 

Director;

Colin Trevorrow

In three words;  Sweet - Endearing - Timeless

 

Review;

Darius Britt (Plaza) is still trying to find her way in life after the death of her mother ten years previous. She is an intern at a Seattle magazine; as such lack of money and her ability to secure a paying job leaves her still living with her father. With fellow intern Aranu (Soni) and journalist Jeff (Johnson) they are assigned to finding out the story behind an obscure classified ad which its writer is requesting a companion to travel back in time.

 

The ad was placed by loner Kenneth (Duplass) who is tacked down by Darius who then starts to attempt to convince him that she wants to go back in time with him. Kenneth is extremely paranoid and is weary of Darius who slowly gets to know much more about him then he would ever allow.

 

Meanwhile Jeff’s ulterior motive for taking on the story is revealed when he informs his intern minions that his high school sweetheart lives in the same town. His intentions are to concentrate on scoring with the love of his life rather than the job at hand. Leaving Aranu stuck between Darius and Jeff.

 

Colin Trevorrow has assembled an excellent cast with a wonderful balance of the play and record and ipod generations. Given that this is Trevorrow’s first feature he has done sterling work in bringing out effortless performances. Talent oozes from the first frame until the credits roll.

 

Duplass looks at home in such a character as Kenneth which he brings to life with a natural ability which must reflect in his own persona. Plaza is a joy to watch with her deadpan delivery of Derek Connolly’s superb screenplay. She is a fantastic actress with a bright future ahead of her.

 

Johnson is the stand out performer in this flick. Playing a character who is essentially a prick at first but still likeable is no mean feat. He has a similar deliver as Mark Ruffalo and I think he is someone who we will see much more of soon. Soni’s performance as the geek, who took the internship just to show diversity on his resume, brings another dimension to the main characters. Trevorrow also brings in quality supporting roles from Jenica Bergere, Kristen Bell, Jaff Garlin and Mary Lynn Rajskub.

 

It could be argued that the film could have been a little longer; an 86 minute running time binds main structure of the film but a few extended scenes and perhaps a longer set up was needed. The script is very well written, but feel there was more of a back story in each of these likeable characters which as an audience we aren’t privy to.

 

This is a film which shows that mistakes from the past can be rectified but you don’t always need a time machine to do this. Safety Not Guaranteed is an endorphin releasing gem which left me with a big smile on my face when leaving the cinema. It is a must see and I cannot wait for a second viewing.

 

Verdict;

5 out of 5.