AS TIME GOES BY
A film review by Alex Patison
Copyright 1989 Alex Patison
"We're not just talking aliens We're talking Australiens"
I like things that play around with time. THE TIME TUNNEL (remember that?), BACK TO THE FUTURE, even Graeme Murphy's choreography for the SYDNEY DANCE COMPANY. So when a film like AS TIME GOES BY comes along I go and see it. I'm glad I did.
Billed as a sci-fi comedy it has all the right ingredients for a good movie. The idea of bringing together a weird mix of characters is a small outback town lends itself to some good situation comedy and it works well. The script, by Barry Peak, progresses along an unpredictable path with a few interesting and comic twists thrown in. The pace, though not frantic (would you expect it to be in a small outback town?), never drops and I often thought what was going to be next.
Mike (Nique Needles) is the main character, a surfer who ends up in a small country town. This lends itself to a small cast which is great for a couple of reasons. Cost - this is a small-budget film. Development - no character is redundant. Simple - the simplicity of the plot does not complicate matters - it allows the film to exploit the comedy available.
The acting is good and Max Gillies does a great job displaying his vocal dexterity as one of the aliens.
Recommended with 7.5/10
Alex Patison
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