Can you ever know your every timeline?

Rating: 8/10 (21 January 2016)

This has been sitting in my "must get round to watching" folder for a while. To be fair it was really only the long run time that has dissuaded me in the past.
So what's it about? Well, the story jumps around a lot, in both chronology and plot(s), held together largely by an old guy reminiscing on the many different timelines that his life has taken and the choices that led to them.
It's a fairly philosophical movie that plays around with the concept of time, its direction and our experience of it. Reminiscent of The Butterfly Effect we are shown the various lives that result from a particular childhood decision along with the many possible branching lines that come from later decisions.
I have a personal bugbear with sci-fi films, particularly those that focus on time. By and large they show little regard for any kind of scientific considerations or even a basic understanding of any relevant physical principles. To give credit here, references are made to concepts such as thermodynamics and the multiple dimensions implied by string theory, (although we are also treated to the generally disregarded Big Crunch hypothesis). They may not have used these in a particularly relevant way but I admire the effort.
Not that it matters too much really, suspension of disbelief is crucial to appreciate a movie like this, with that in mind it is a rewarding experience. Recognising that happiness and pain exist in every possible life, the movie reminds us of our own choices and the often pondered "what if" scenario.
It's not perfect, the subject matter seems at times mired by youthful naivety, the philosophy more akin to teenage confusion than contemplative reflection, perhaps that is the point though. Nevertheless for anyone with a genuine interest in the nature of time, this is one of the better movies on that subject.