MEMORY LANE (2011)

MEMORY LANE

USA, 2011

Director: Shawn Holmes

7,5/10

I'm a total sucker for time-travel-themed movies. No matter what genre, be it stuff like "Back To The Future", "Terminator", "Philadelphia Experiment" or "Planet Of The Apes". If there's a time travel, time loop or time slip involved, I'm totally up for it - and that's also exactly why I enjoyed "Memory Lane" so much.

I remember watching the very first teaser a few weeks ago which impressed me a lot, although I thought it's a movie about a guy who resurrects from the dead, or at least isn't able to die.

Boy, was I wrong: "Memory Lane" is actually a surprisingly well-made and great-looking lowest-budget blend of science fiction, crime thriller and love story about a guy who tries to solve the murder of his fiancée by stopping and starting his own heart, a procedure which allows him to go back in time.

The plot is terrific and reminded me a bit of movies like "Butterfly Effect", "12:01" and "Memento". It's complex, intelligent and full of unpredictable and stunning plot points - yet, it's a bit difficult to watch because large parts of the movie are told in a non-chronogical order. I actually had to watch it 2 times until I fully understood it.

The look of "Memory Lane" is also pretty awesome due to the beautiful cinematography and some cool camera work which reminded me a bit of the amazing "A Horrible Way To Die" (handheld camera, many close-ups, focused/unfocused scenes etc.).

Most of the actors deliver wonderful and believable performances (especially Michael Guy Allen, Zac Snyder and the uber-beautiful Meg Barrick), the effective Pro-Scores soundtrack (part bombastic, part emotional) is excellent, the editing is neat and the film locations all look great.

Best of all: it costed less than $300!!!

I couldn't believe it because the film looks and feels more expensive, but according to the interview with director Shawn Holmes in the presskit, they spent $286 on food for actors and $6 on fake blood. Everything else was 'either borrowed or created out of things that the cast and crew already had'  :-o

Overall, "Memory Lane" is undoubtedly one of the most impressive indie films I've seen lately. It's compelling, entertaining and visually exciting.

It could have been longer (it's only about 70 minutes long) and the story could have been told in a more simple way - but apart from that, I really enjoyed it.

Imdb

btw: Thanx to director Shawn Holmes 
for providing me with a screener of "Memory Lane"!

Check out  

www.553am.com/MEMORYLANE

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www.facebook.com/MEMORYLANE
for more information.