Breaking Infinity throws you into a timeloop, with the future of the world hanging in the balance. It may boast a pretty backdrop, but this film is by no means the first of its kind.
★★★✰✰
Breaking Infinity is the latest attempt at a mind-bending thriller that wants to leave you asking existential questions. Director Marianna Dean is best known for short sci-fi films, and the thematic trend continues as she forays into feature-length pictures.
Protagonist Liam (Neil Bishop) wakes up in a hospital with very little knowledge of how or why he’s there. His relationship with work colleague Emma (Zoe Cunningham) is explored as he fights to return to sanity. One of the key layers of this film are the different dimensions, in which the two characters lead very different lives. In one world, they are simply a doctor and a patient. In another, they are inseparable and madly in love.
In Liam’s work as a scientific researcher, his normal life, the end of the world is nigh and he is intent on prolonging life for all of humanity. Alongside his partner Garret (Zed Josef), he’s under immense pressure from higher-ups to make major breakthroughs, and fast. It’s difficult enough, without Liam also being the test subject at the heart of it all, and these different periods of time feeding him different information.
The vast valleys of Wales make for picturesque scenery in one half of the movie, while a typical-looking, much more lifeless hospital forms the other. A strong colour palette comes to the fore in the valleys, the intense orange of the roaring fire, representing the apocalypse, neatly contrasting with the rolling green hills.
At the heart of the film, in and amongst all of the various dimensions it takes place in, is the relationship between Liam and Emma. When the former is lacking any real memory, Emma is just a doctor to him. In the early stages, their relationship is very professional—and understandably so. However, as Liam’s memory starts to return and he begins to further understand how the multiple universes he’s experiencing align, his memories of his relationship with Emma come back too. The flashbacks of his beloved Emma drive him forward when he’s at his lowest, adding a new layer of emotion to the narrative.
One area where Dean’s piece of work comes up short at times is the dialogue. Whilst Emma’s speech becomes more natural as her relationship with Liam starts to gain normalcy, the words themselves sound somewhat unnatural and are far too conspicuously scripted. Garret is perhaps the most interesting character of all—he’s fleshed out as a believable person, which offers relief from a film otherwise beyond the expectations of Earth and he boasts the most engaging character arc of all.
Above all, Breaking Infinity is a sci-fi film, and one that isn’t necessarily original. Dimension jumping, time travelling and the end of the world crop up in so many movies, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar a prime example of it being executed perfectly. These two films operate in very different realms, but the similarities between the two still serve as a reminder that this genre is becoming more and more saturated.
The Verdict
Breaking Infinity is easy on the eye and worth a watch, but lacks the originality for it to pack as powerful a punch as desired. The majority of questions that the film asks are answered, wrapping up a succinct film that will appeal to fans of the genre. Romance enthusiasts will be equally satisfied by a poignant story of love conquering all. Regardless, Dean’s move away from short films has begun well and offers promise for the future.
Words by Jamie Rooke
Breaking Infinity is released in UK cinemas on 1st June
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