Timer (2009)
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A woman with a blank soulmate countdown must navigate the complexities of love in a world where destiny is measured by a wrist implant.
The story
In a world where wrist implants count down to the moment a person meets their soulmate, Oona, a Los Angeles orthodontist, is frustrated to find her own implant is blank. While her roommate Steph lives a life of one-night stands with men whose timers are about to expire, Oona struggles to find a meaningful connection. After a failed attempt to get her latest boyfriend's timer to match hers, Oona begins to question the validity of the technology and the pressure to find 'the one' before her 30th birthday.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Oona, a Los Angeles orthodontist, has a blank soulmate countdown, meaning her soulmate lacks an implant. She tries to force a match with her current boyfriend, but it fails. Her roommate Steph has a timer indicating she won't meet her soulmate for 15 years and encourages Oona to enjoy casual flings. Meanwhile, their brother Jessie's timer activates immediately, revealing his soulmate is the housekeeper's daughter. Oona begins dating Mikey, a grocery clerk who encourages her to live in the present; he reveals his own timer was a fake programmable sticker. As Oona's 30th birthday nears, she and Steph decide to have their implants removed. However, Oona's timer suddenly starts, indicating her soulmate has acquired an implant and she will meet them the next day. At a birthday party, Oona sees Dan, whose timer goes off because he bought an implant to avoid being alone. After a series of arguments and realizations about the artificiality of the timers, Oona removes her implant and tells Mikey she doesn't care about the results. She eventually meets Dan at a track, where they part with the promise of meeting again.
- First release year
- 2009
- Runtime (minutes)
- 99
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jac Schaeffer
- Writers
- Jac Schaeffer · writer
- Cast and characters
- Emma Caulfield · Oona O'Leary; Michelle Borth · Steph DePaul; John Patrick Amedori · Mikey Evers; Desmond Harrington · Dan "The Man"; JoBeth Williams · Marion DePaul; Kali Rocha · Patty, The Matchmaker; John Ingle · Dutch
- Genres
- science fiction; romantic comedy
- Themes
- destiny vs. free will; modern dating; technology and relationships
- Tone and mood
- romantic; comedic; sci-fi
- Setting
- Los Angeles, present day
- Premise and plot tags
- soulmates; time countdown; romantic comedy
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews, holding a 67% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. New York Times critic Neil Genzlinger noted that while the plot twists were predictable, they were enjoyable to watch.
- Production trivia
- The film was the directorial debut of Jac Schaeffer.; The film is stylized as TiMER.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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