Film Screening 27th March, 2013

Poster for Safety Not Guaranteed

Safety Not Guaranteed 

8:00 PM, 27th March, 2013

  • M
  • 85 mins
  • 2012
  • Colin Trevorrow
  • Derek Connolly
  • Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson, Mark Duplass, Karan Soni

“Wanted: Someone to go back in time with. This is not a joke. You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. Safety not guaranteed.”

This was the wording of a classified ad from 1997. It was revived recently as a popular meme, and now it has inspired a film.

Searching for a news story, magazine hack Jeff (Johnson, from “New Girl”) takes interns Darius (Plaza, from “Parks And Recreation”) and Arnau (Soni) on the road to track down the source of the classified ad. They eventually encounter Kenneth (Duplass) and, in the process of trying to figure out whether he is crazy or for real, Darius develops a deep friendship with him.

Less Back To The Future, more Juno, this touching indie film is essentially about dealing with our past, and how the approach we take affects our present and future. Sure, it has many of the quirk factors often used with these indies (cute awkward hipster girl, alternative folk-y soundtrack) but at its core it has heart, intelligence and humour.

Snaring the coveted Closing Night Film spot at last year’s Sydney Film Festival is another indication that this film is an accomplished feel-good crowd-pleaser. It was certainly one of my favourites of 2012, and I encourage you to come along and be charmed by it as well.

Travis Cragg