Watching "Time Code", Mike Figgis' thrilling new experimental digital film, is like being in the hands of a master craftsman. The action was filmed with four separate digital cameras in one continuous 90 minute take. The resulting footage is shown in four quadrants of the movie screen. Mr. Figgis turns the sound up on the scene of the most importance at any given time.
At first you may want to fight the experience, trying to decipher all the conversations on the four screens. Finally, though, you come to the realization that it is not possible and, really, not the point. It would be akin to going to the opera and listening only to the oboe. You then relax and let Mr. Figgis take you where you need to go. Like a fine composer, he eases you into his arrangement - first the top-right quadrant, then the bottom-left, then before you know it, all four screens are going simultaneously.
This is not the confusing mess that it could have been in the hands of a lesser director. Mr. Figgis has obviously put in countless hours choreographing his four camera operators with precise movements. The scenes intersect and topple over each other in more inventive ways than it first seemed possible. Characters call each other on cell phones, see each other from a distance, and even bug each other with listening devices. And, like "Magnolia", another story of intertwined lives, a natural phenomenon unites the characters at various points in the story.
Each of the actors is more or less on screen constantly from multiple angles. They perform admirably in all cases. Salma Hayek , Stellan Skarsgard and Saffron Burrows give fine performances and Jeanne Tripplehorn, as Ms. Hayek's obsessed lesbian lover, gives one of the best performances of her career. What there is of a story follows an actress (Ms. Hayek) auditioning for the role of her lifetime while the skeletons in the closets of those around her come tumbling out.
Mr. Figgis may be just scratching the surface of what is possible in this new digital medium. It will be interesting to see what can be done with this process in the future. In the meantime, though, watching "Time Code" is like witnessing evolution take place, and in the hands of Mr. Figgis, it's a thrilling, visceral ride.
