Danielle Solzman
Infinitum: Subject Unknown is a British sci-fi film that came about during the first British lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Director/co-writer Matthew Butler-Hart and actress/co-writer Tori Butler-Hart make the best of the Covid lockdown. All sorts of creatives had their lives put on hold for much of early 2020. At least until filmmakers were able to figure out how to make movies safely during a pandemic. Matthew Butler-Hart shoots the film on an iPhone.
When Jane (Tori Butler-Hart) wakes up, she finds herself in some sort of alternate universe. She is seemingly stuck in a time loop with no way out of it. Sound familiar, maybe? But as each loop resets, Jane starts having her memories come back and slowly but surely, she figures things out when she happens upon a science research lab and finds videos featuring Dr. Charles Marland-White (Ian McKellen) and Professor Aaron Ostergaard (Conleth Hill).
This time loop film runs more to the quantum side of things. Don’t come here if you’re expecting to see something like Groundhog Day or Palm Springs. No, there’s no comedic enjoyment to be found here.
If you’re coming into the movie to watch either Ian McKellen or Conleth Hill, please prepare to be disappointed. I watched the trailer after watching the film and they’re overselling you on McKellen’s character. The same also goes for the movie’s poster. That he’s the only one who gets a billing in the trailer leaves me feeling dumbfounded. Put it this way: I glad I didn’t spend the money on this because I would have felt disappointed. If I’m being more honest, the only reason why this film drew my interest in the first place is because of Ian McKellen. And yet, the former X-Men star is in Infinitum: Subject Unknown for all of under five minutes! Much of his screen time comes during the film’s cold open.
Infinitum: Subject Unknown isn’t for everyone.
DIRECTOR: Matthew Butler-Hart
SCREENWRITERS: Tori Butler-Hart and Matthew Butler-Hart
CAST: Tori Butler-Hart with Conleth Hill and Ian McKellen
