Synopsis: Irene In Time is an examination of the relationships between fathers and daughters, and the potential consequences they may have on the daughters future relationships with men.
Release Date: June 19, 2009 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Drama, Melodrama
Film Review
Production
Just when you think Irene In Time may be a touching story about a father and daughter you find it is merely a film with very poor acting and a storyline overflowing with bad melodrama. Irene In Time would have been better suited as a straight to DVD release or better yet a movie-of-the-week. Then again, maybe it just should never have been made.
Writing
The script for Irene In Time is actually very well written, it is the performances that kill it. The story itself and the dialogue among characters is full of richness in how it deals with relationships and communication.
Acting
Tanna Frederick (Irene) gives a performance that could be compared to chalkboard scraping with fingernails. At first, she appears to be sweet and witty in her quest to master the art of dating. This quickly fades and she becomes a whiny, over-eccentric, and obnoxious woman who is so full of daddy issues it sickens you. At no time do you feel that it is charming how much she loved her father for Frederick’s performance kills any empathy or connection you may have felt with the character.
Sound
There are major sound issues throughout Irene In Time, but most of all in the outdoor scenes. As the scenes cut between characters the sound levels, or background noises, change dramatically. For example, one shot of Irene will be almost silent besides dialogue and then on the next cut to one of her friends suddenly the background noise is loud and interfering with hearing the dialogue clearly. It makes for a very disruptive experience.
Uniqueness
Sitting through Irene In Time may be one of the most painful things you ever do. That is if you actually sit through the entire film and do not walk out about 40 minutes in. Unique indeed.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Henry Jaglom
- Screenwriter: Henry Jaglom
- Cast: Tanna Frederick (Irene), Victoria Tennant (Eleanor), Lanre Idewu (Jakub), Andrea Marcovicci (Helen), Karen Black (Sheila)
- Other Crew: Henry Jaglom, Hanania Baer, Barbara Drake, Cynthia Obsenares, Harriet Schock
- Country Of Origin: USA
