the groundhog day project

”Anything might have been anything else and had as much meaning to it” --Tennessee Williams, “The Malediction” The thought is a complicated one—and I’ll get to it below—but first, I like the idea of that quotation given what I’ve been doing with this blog a lot, lately; I’ve been sublimating my interest in Groundhog Day with other—albeit thematically-related—films. The discussion continues, though the angle is twisted. Tonight it was Mr. Nobody , a film that doesn’t deal in a time loop but does deal in disjointed time and alternate realities based on choices—a lot like Run Lola Run , Sliding Doors , Blind Chance . Nemo Nobody (Jared Leto) is the last mortal human in the year 2092 (maybe), and he is either being hypnotized by a guy with facial tattoos or being interviewed by a reporter using a tape recorder he “borrowed” from a museum. He’s recalling his life, especially certain moments where choices led to his life changing one way or another (or sometimes another). He’s tellin...

“There was a time in my life not so long ago, that I experienced a moment that could only be described as pure love and happiness. It was as if love and happiness were finally real to me and were something tangible, embodied in that moment. They were in everything I could hear, touch, taste and smell. I could see them with my very eyes—reflected back at me in someone else’s. They were all around me, breathing life into me, as if wrapping me up in a divine blanket. And in that moment I caught a glimpse of something. A parallel universe—a way things could have been. An alternate reality where that love and happiness were mine to keep, a place where I didn’t have to let them go. I only hope that one day… many years from now when I am an old lady and I close my eyes for the last time—I will open them again and find myself there.” —Renata Suzuki Six minutes into Sliding Doors , we have our setup: two alternate realities. Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) has been sacked from her PR job and heads...