Ol Agent Xander (that drooling friend of Buffy) has been a spy of ours for ages now, maybe even from the beginning (that's been so long, my brain can't remember that far back), but he's come through with a report on a movie called THE STICKY FINGERS OF TIME, which will be opening up in New York soon, but that slipped through the reporting cracks from Toronto and SXSW... So, lest it slip by completely unseen... read Xander's report, I know I wish I had seen this flick...
Hey Harry
Agent Xander here, reporting for duty for the first time in ages. I'm writing in to tell you (and your readers) about a great indie science fiction movie I just saw that opens in NYC in January 29 (and hopefully around the country before too long). It's called THE STICKY FINGERS OF TIME, and it was in the Toronto Film Fest in '97 (and played in your neck of the woods at SXSW '98) and has made some stops on the gay & lesbian film festival circuit as well. It's about a mystery writer in Brooklyn in the 1950s who leaves her apartment and finds herself in Manhattan circa 1997. It turns out that she was taken through time seconds before she was, according to history, going to be murdered. Major crazy plot twists ensue. It was made for only $250,000, but the low budget never prevents it from being thoroughly effective. The stars are Terumi Matthews (best known for playing Madonna in Fox's made-for-TV movie about The Material One from a few years ago) and James Urbaniak (star of Hal Hartley's sublime HENRY FOOL). It's packed to the hilt with terrific ideas that echo concepts from 12 MONKEYS and DC's recently-cancelled time-travel comic CHRONOS with a bit of BACK TO THE FUTURE II thrown in. It's not the virtuoso technical work that PI was, but it's just as packed with ideas and has much better performances. If you're tired of the cookie-cutter nature of so many low-budget indies (especially gay and/or lesbian-themed ones), it's definitely worth a look. It's written and directed by a woman named Hilary Brougher, who displays a terrific understanding of science fiction ideas, and who I'd love to see more work from.
Agent Xander out!
