Timestalker starring Aneurin Barnard hits cinemas this week
Stephen Price
Acclaimed Welsh actor, Aneurin Barnard, has shared his excitement ahead of the release of ‘comedy genius’ Alice Lowe’s ‘visual delight’, Timestalker, which hits cinemas this week.
Timestalker tells the story of unrequited love through the centuries, and stars writer-director Alice Lowe alongside Jacob Anderson, Aneurin Barnard, Tanya Reynolds and Nick Frost.
Produced by Western Edge Pictures, the film was funded by the BFI (awarding National Lottery funding), Head Gear Films, Popcorn Group and Ffilm Cymru Wales with funding from the National Lottery and Welsh Government via Creative Wales.
Praise
Having premiered at the prestigious SXSW film, music and tech festival in Austin, Texas, Timestalker has received glowing reviews, with the stellar cast coming in for much of the praise.
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The Playlist wrote: “Writer/director Alice Lowe clearly understands the assignment with her clever new absurdist comedy, Timestalker, which doesn’t waste a second triggering its ridiculous but enjoyable idea.
“As outlandish as Timestalker is, Lowe’s film holds its idea together well with style, wit, resourceful imagination, great lovelorn music, the sincerity behind heartbreak and deep yearning, and hilarious, sharp laughs to boot.”
While Screen Daily also heaped praise on the production, writing: “A darkly funny, emotionally insightful time-travel comedy drama about a woman determinedly pursuing the supposed love of her life throughout history.
“Taking pleasure in subverting romcom tropes and boasting a satisfying attention to detail, Timestalker is a showcase for Lowe’s considerable talents on both sides of the camera.”
Rotten Tomatoes currently has a 94% rating for the low-budget movie based on 16 reviews to date.
The film follows hapless heroine Agnes (Alice Lowe) through time as she repeatedly falls for the wrong guy, dies a grim death, and is reincarnated a century later, before meeting him again and starting the cycle anew.
It is one story told over many periods, all with the messy thrills and spills that come with daring to “follow your heart. Or maybe your loins…”
Agnes’ only hope in avoiding this violent fate is by finally reaching spiritual enlightenment; but how can she ever wise up when she’s destined to be a fool for love? Some lessons are just too hard to learn in one lifetime.
Welsh excellence
Timestalker is one of nine independent Welsh-made films benefiting from £2 million of Welsh Government funding via the Creative Wales and Ffilm Cymru Wales feature film production fund.
Joedi Langley, Interim Head of Creative Wales, said: “Alice Lowe’s Timestalker is the latest in a growing list of productions choosing Wales as its backdrop, following in the footsteps of recent major hits such as House of the Dragon and Sex Education.
“Shot entirely in Wales with a predominantly Welsh crew, Timestalker is testament to the range of talent flourishing here, both in front of and behind the camera.
“After its international premiere at SXSW earlier this year, we’re excited that UK cinema audiences will soon be enjoying this made in Wales, sci-fi based romantic comedy that further showcases the vitality and creativity of the Welsh screen sector.
“Timestalker is one of nine independent Welsh-made films to have received support from the Creative Wales and Ffilm Cymru Wales feature film production fund which is designed to help independent film projects move from commission to production.
“Through our support we are working to keep driving the growth of the industry here in Wales whilst inspiring new talent to enter the industry.”
Deadline writes: “Love never dies, but a lot of people do in Alice Lowe’s gloriously bloody valentine to the romantic comedy. Spanning so much time that it practically goes back to the beginning of it, Timestalker is an ambitious project that not only works, it coheres in a way that cements Lowe as a genuine and quite visionary comedic talent.
“It recalls classic Monty Python — it’s often very, very stupid and the same time very, very clever — but most of all it’s an idea of what might have been if that all-male team had ever had a woman or two in its core lineup.”
Timestalker hits cinemas across the country on 11 October.
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