Movie Review: I'll Follow You Down (2013)

Before I ever saw the film, I knew all about the motif of an angel showing someone what the world would've been like had he never been born.  But when I finally saw It's a Wonderful Life, I was shocked that most of the film had nothing to do with that conceit; it only occupied the very last part of a two-hour-plus film.  In the same way, I'll Follow You Down is a sci-fi movie about time travel-- the sequence that fits it into that genre is so short, it's hardly fair to classify the film as sci-fi.

This movie is a hardcore drama about how a family continues after its paterfamilias (Rufus Sewell) mysteriously disappears during a business trip.  It's nice to see both Haley Joel Osment and Gillian Anderson on screen again, and in good form, though playing different types of characters than you might expect.  The story is played out very realistically-- you can believe that the characters might act this way (at least, for the first half of the film).

I think some problems start to creep in as soon as they introduce the sci-fi element (which involves time travel, but I won't say much more).  Considering how real and serious the movie is otherwise, the introduction of this fantastic element was a little too casually presented for me, and felt sillier to me because of it.  But, truth be told, this movie is not about science-- science is merely a metaphor for dealing with philosophical and emotional issues.  And when the sci-fi sequence comes at the end, it's done well and powerfully, and it's worth the wait.

Still, I walked away wishing they had spent more time in the fantastical world, and explored the mind-boggling scientific ramifications of what was happening.  At the very least, I wish they had just acknowledged more how significant the possibility of time travel is-- I think it would have added more depth to the central dilemma.

But, at worst, this is an imperfectly executed experiment in merging drama and sci-fi.  It still contains fine performances and a thought-provoking premise, and it's well worth taking a look at.  Just don't go in expecting hardcore sci-fi.