Is the life you lead the one you’ve always owned, or is your true self buried deep within the realm of the unknown? That is the fascinating and at times terrifying reality that Lost in Time poses to its audience from the get-go. Combining a healthy dose of holiday whimsy with a zany sci-fi twist, it’s a puzzle box film you’ll have an exciting time solving and watching.
Leda Calder (Alex Morden) is a young woman preparing her home for the Christmas season—and doing a mighty fine job at it too, decking the house in some cozy decor to usher in some yuletide cheer. And yet not everything is as perfect or serene as it initially seems. You see, Leda’s existence is not ordinary, as she struggles with a fragmented memory that leads her down different junctions of reality. As if it could not get any stranger, an unexpected visit from her best friend Jane (Holly Stevens) opens up an entirely new plane of existence for Leda as she quickly discovers that her surroundings are warping and time has begun to loop.
It’s safe to say that it all quickly takes a turn for the bizarre, a descent that is both well-written and tremendously executed, from the rapport built between Morden and Stevens to the actual psychological undertones that manifest in simple but effective ways.
The best way to experience Henry Colin’s feature film is to forgo all manner of research and dive in blind. It’s an incredibly rewarding experience to watch unfold, especially with how efficient Colin keeps his story’s many moving parts. Nothing is overdone when it comes to the more science-fiction-oriented parts—with the writer/director keeping everything grounded in reality just enough to keep it all believable. The brighter, cheerier interiors of Leda’s home are frequently shortchanged for darker, more contrast-heavy images of what we assume to be her broken psyche, and it all meshes together beautifully. You’ll find yourself immersed in this mystery, yearning for it to continue and spiral even deeper.
The technical crew deserves high praise for their precise work that matches the narrative’s ambitious strides. Everything from the sound to the atmosphere and the lighting is brilliant. Director of Photography Keith Mitchell’s work is masterful, his work confidently embracing the variety of colors and spaces that Leda fades in and out from. There are some truly imaginative compositions, with the finale reminiscent of another standout mind-bender, namely Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow.
Lost in Time builds and expands on familiar sci-fi tropes, turning its character-focused exploration of reality and identity into a thriller you’ll want to sit down for—maybe even more than once.
