I'll Follow You Down

Known both as "Continuum" and "I'll Follow You Down." My wife and i were able to view it on TV streaming.

A brilliant professor travels from Canada to Princeton for a conference. When he is expected home he doesn't show up and a search seems to indicate that he just disappeared. His wife and young son are puzzled and it has an impact on their future lives.

I'll not say any more about the actual story because it can't be done without revealing key spoilers. It does involve backwards time travel, which we know from all experts is impossible, but it makes for good science fiction. Rather the story really becomes how one regards family and relationships and, if one could, would one change things at the expense of something else?

And even more important, if you had a new technology that could either greatly benefit the world, or used improperly greatly harm the world, should you announce it anyway? A parallel is drawn with Einstein's discoveries which as we now know can be used to destroy humanity if used in bombs.

Pretty good movie, all the actors are good.

I'LL FOLLOW YOU DOWN (aka: CONTINUUM) is a well-made science fiction film about dire loss and the desire to go back and "fix" things.

When a brilliant physicist (Rufus Sewell) vanishes without a trace, it devastates his wife, Marika (Gillian Anderson) and son, Erol (Haley Joel Osment).

Years later, Marika is still haunted by the disappearance, nearly unable to function. Errol, while going through similar agony, discovers that his grandfather has been working on something that just may be the key to the entire mystery.

This film has drama, tension, and an emotional quagmire, along with its sci-fi elements.

Right up front, it's important to know that Ms. Anderson plays a supporting role, and isn't in the movie very much. Sewell is only in it for about 5 minutes.

This is Osment's movie, and he's quite good, making one wonder where he went after THE SIXTH SENSE! Here, he's the central character in a tale of love, hope, and human ingenuity.

Very much worth seeing...

Gabriel (Rufus Sewell) disappears during a business trip. His wife Marika (Gillian Anderson) is left to raise their son Erol. Twelve years later, Erol (Haley Joel Osment) is a student of his grandfather Sal (Victor Garber). He tells him about his father possibly traveled back in time to 1946. Erol starts working on their own time machine while his girlfriend Grace informs him about her pregnancy. She fears his interference changing their relationship.

This does not have enough tension. It has no intensity. Haley Joel Osment is limited as the leading man. The lead in the first act is actually Gillian Anderson. This is basically a long extended sci-fi TV. In fact, I would cut it down to 46 minutes and make a pretty good hour long TV episode. This doesn't have the flash of even the smallest sci-fi indies. The premise is fine but there isn't enough to bulk it up.

Erol (Haley Joel Osment) and his grandfather (Victor Garber) work together using quantum physics to develop the ability to travel back in time, with the aim of repairing a family shattered by the disappearance 12 years earlier of Erol's father (Rufus Sewell).

This is a movie about relationships and the possible selfish impacts of time travel upon them. For example, if Erol travels back in time to prevent his father's disappearance, how can he guarantee his fiancée (Susanna Fournier) that they will still be together in the new version of the present day?

This is not an action movie. There are no special effects. It is essentially a mystery drama with time travel acting as the primary plot device.

I enjoyed the movie. Its definitely not perfect. A little slow in places.

I read several reviewers complain about the casting of Haley Joel Osment. I thought he was fine, though given his physical appearance it is hard to imagine him being the son of Rufus Sewell and Gillian Anderson and the grandson of Victor Garber. However, if you can suspend your disbelief and believe that a couple of men writing mathematical equations on a chalk board can make time travel possible, then anything is possible.

I liked this movie!

As a scientist, I like sci-fi movies that don't have gaping, roll-your-eyes holes in the science. As awful lot of "small" sci-fi movie are just plain stupid. This is a small movie, with nothing much in the way of special effects, but it doesn't have that problem. It rings true.

I like smart characters, too, and I like decent, well-meaning characters. Too many movies are weighed down by characters who just make you want to grab them and shake them and scream, "what's the matter with you, you idiot?" Not this one.

There are no nasty, stupid, or unlikable characters in this movie, and, of the major characters, only Grace is a bit shallow. I'll Follow You Down combines excellent character development with a fine (if somewhat unoriginal) sci-fi plot, a couple of romances, a few nice plot twists, and just the right amount of suspense. Good movie!