Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) - Colin Trevorrow

Three Seattle magazine employees seek out the man responsible for an unusual classified ad from an eccentric man, Kenneth, who believes he's discovered the secret to time travel.  Kenneth is looking for a partner in his time travel escapade, and Darius, one of the magazine employees, attempts to be that person.  Safety Not Guaranteed is a funny, charming film that does a good job of never venturing into the indie cliche's which plague these types of films.  Darius is a young woman whose not particularly happy with her life and as she becomes closer with Kenneth, the two of them form an intimate relationship, which both gain from.  The film really does a great job at exploring these characters humanity, and not just in it's core character's story.  I particularly found Jeff, the reporter whose original agenda for taking on the story has to do with his desire to hook up with an old flame of his, to be surprisingly strong.  The strength of this film lies in the fact that all of it's characters are explored and given depth, while never slowing down the narrative or having it feel unfocused.  It's nothing incredibly ground-breaking, but it's definitely one of the better indie comedy-dramas to come out so far this year.
7.5/10

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