Back when Jurassic World was released, I saw a lot of “Director Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed)”. Some streaming service hopping led to the discovery that not only is his directorial debut under ninety minutes long (always nice), but also utterly charming.
A journalist and two interns (Johnson, Plaza, Soni) head out to interview the creator of a local ad which mentions time travel. Are they serious? Are they just crazy?
It got me thinking. Would I want to meet girlfriends I had twenty years ago? Would I want to change anything that I’ve done, or anything else I’ve seen happen? Wondering what could have been is perfectly natural, but there’s a big difference between that and pining for what ifs.
In a cinematic landscape which now gorges on nostalgia, there’s an irony in Trevorrow – who’s JW ushered in the requel/legacyquel era – creating a film which thoughtfully looks at different people’s reactions to the passage of time and events which have shaped them.
The scope of Safety Not Guaranteed is modest. A handful of characters, with some broad stokes on each. The sci-fi element is only gently leaned into, with emotion being the focus. It works. Safety Not Guaranteed is a prime example of a thought-provoking lower budget tale.
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