In The Blink of an Eye | Through the Shattered Lens

The most interesting thing about In The Blink Of An Eye is who directed it.

Andrew Stanton got his start at PIXAR, directing films like A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, and my personal favorite, WALL-E. (He also directed Toy Story 5, which will be coming out later this year.) Stanton’s PIXAR films were some of the best to come out of that legendary studio. Especially when it came to WALL-E, he showed not only his skill as a visual storyteller but also his ability to craft compelling narratives that sold their message without necessarily feeling preachy. (If you didn’t cry while watching WALL-E, you don’t have a heart.) Stanton’s first live action film was John Carter, a legendary flop that was more betrayed by its producers than its director. After the failure of John Carter, Stanton redeemed himself by directing episodes of shows like Stranger Things, Better Call Saul, and For All Mankind.

In The Blink Of An Eye is Stanton’s second live action film. It’s an earnest film. One can tell that both Stanton and the film’s screenwriter, Colby Day, felt they had something important to say. (Day’s screenplay appeared on the 2016 Black List, which is the annual list of the “best” unproduced screenplays in Hollywood. Unfortunately, as anyone who has sat through Cedar Rapids can tell you, merely getting on the Black List is not a guarantee that a script will be transformed into a good or even watchable movie.) Like WALL-E, it’s a film with a message. Unfortunately, it’s nowhere near as watchable or compelling as Stanton’s animated work.

It’s a film that tells three interconnected stories, each one taking place at a different time in human history. In 45,000 BC, a family of cave people struggle to survive and to start a civilization on the beach of a largely untouched Earth. In the 21st century, anthropologist Claire (Rashida Jones) falls in love with Greg (Daveed Diggs) and eventually, they have a son who inherits their shared interest in science and their appreciation for Paleolithic culture. (Don’t let Claire hear you suggest that Neanderthals were dumb.) Meanwhile, in the far future, Coakley (Kate McKinnon) lives on a spaceship where her only companion is an AI named Rosco (voiced by Rhona Rees). When Coakley’s mission appears to be in jeopardy, Rosco suggests that the only solution might be Coakley shutting Rosco down. The stories share a connection, one that most audiences will guess before the film gets around to revealing it.

As I said, In The Blink Of An Eye is an earnest and well-intentioned film. (Colby Day also wrote the screenplay for the underrated Spaceman, a film that dealt with similar themes.) And yet, it really doesn’t work. The pacing is off. This is a 90 minute film that feels considerably longer. The stories themselves are not particularly compelling. The cave people are well-acted and I appreciated the fact that they spoke they’re own language as opposed to crude English but they were also way too clean. For a group of people who lived without soap, toothpaste, razors, and deodorant, they were way too physically pleasant to be credible. Rashida Jones and Daveed Diggs are sweet when they’re falling in love but then they become rather insufferable once they start a family. As for the future scenes, Kate McKinnon has never been a particularly consistent actress and that trend continues here. She gets outacted by the voice of Rosco. (Having the AI be more likable than the actual human worked well in 2001 but it’s far less effective here.)

As I said, it was well-intentioned but, in the end, it just left me wanting to watch WALL-E again.

I recorded the 2009 film, In The Blink of an Eye, off of one of the local channels on September 9th.

Remember how Bill Murray had to relive the same day over and over again in Groundhog Day?

Well, consider this to be Rapture Day!

David A.R. White, who has been involved in several faith-based, apocalyptic-minded productions, plays David, an agnostic cop who saves the life of pop star Lindsey O’Connor (Jessica Hope), who is obviously meant to be a Britney Spears/Miley Cyrus type of figure. She really needs someone to step in and help her get some control over her life but, before that can happen, she has to go on vacation in Mexico with her manager. Since David saved her life and all, he and his wife (Andrea Logan White) and his ultra-religious partner (Lonnie Colon) are invited to accompany her.

Of course, David has an ulterior motive for accepting that invitation. David’s captain (Eric Roberts!) thinks that Lindsey’s manager might have connections to the shadowy world of international organized crime! So, David is not only going to Mexico to relax. He’s also going down there to investigate!

But, of course, then the Rapture happens so none of that really matters. David’s wife vanishes. David’s partner vanishes. You know who doesn’t vanish? That’s right — David!

At first, David is confused as to what happened. In fact, he’s so confused that he ends up getting killed by Lindsey’s manager! But fear not! No sooner has David died than he’s waking up and reliving the day. Once again, his wife and his partner vanish. Once again, David gets killed. Once again, David awakens and has to relive the whole day all over again…

So, here’s my issue with In the Blink Of An Eye. Now, admittedly, I don’t share the film’s Evangelical background but, since the film takes a premillennialist approach to its story, doesn’t that mean that everyone in the movie should only get one chance to be raptured? I mean, isn’t the idea that the “living elect” ascend to the Heaven and everyone who didn’t get selected basically has to live through the tribulation, regardless of whether they later come to have faith or not?

But instead, in this film, David gets not just one chance but six different chances to get raptured! That doesn’t seem quite fair, especially since no one else in the film appears to get that chance. Eric Roberts certainly doesn’t get that chance. Instead, he just get an email telling him not accept the sign of the beast. That really doesn’t seem quite fair.

But hey, at least Eric Roberts is in the movie! Seriously, you never know where Eric Roberts is going to pop up. He doesn’t really get to do much in this movie. His role is mostly a cameo but he’s Eric Roberts so who cares?

In the Blink of an Eye attempts to wed religious debate with a crime thriller plot. Due to some awkward dialogue, stiff performances, and a particularly bizarre obsession with denouncing popular music, (the cops make some comments about dealing with “the people who listen to rap music” that will literally have you cringing), the film doesn’t come any where close to working. That said, I have to admit that, as someone who is always interested in films made outside of the normal studio system, that I do often find these low-budget, faith-based films to be interesting, just for the chance to see what people can do when they have no money but a lot of enthusiasm.