The past is the greatest influence on the future. Through each choice we make and crossroad we encounter, we build up a little thing called life experience. As new choices present themselves we instinctively reflect back on similar situations to pick which path we will forge next. But with a web of choices every minute, sometimes serendipity kicks in and takes you for a little ride. And so goes Gavin Heffernan’s (who writes, stars and directs) delightful independent feature Expiration.
Everyone in the film is at a crossroads in their lives and to get through it, some growth and personal discovery has to happen. That’s where fate steps in. It sends the film’s characters through a series of events that help them find the light. Sam (Heffernan) finds out that his girlfriend is pregnant. They’re both young and little ones were certainly not in the plan. And although they have known each other since childhood, they’re still not even sure if they love one another. But Sam wants to do the right thing and considering the situation, getting married seems like proper route to take.
Throughout the film there are brief flashbacks that don’t say much on their own except lay the groundwork for the events yet to happen and ensure that they’re about as logical as you’re going to get out of Heffernan. With these odd situations, guesswork and suspense are easy as very few of the events are the first logical solutions that popped into my head.
It’s often hard to get a pulse on exactly what is happening in the film, not that that’s a bad thing. Every scene is interesting in its own right and always seem to be building towards something bigger. So while I sometimes found myself scratching my head a little, Heffernan provides just enough information to keep the intrigue at a maximum.
As a result, not a single scene is bland. There’s a balanced mix of some sequences that revolve around quirky and strange events. Others offer up bright and wonderful ideas that you don’t come across in films all that often. Better still is the fact that the exposition isn’t boring talking and philosophical mumbo jumbo (think of the Architect in The Matrix Reloaded) but rather the dialogue sounds not much more than common talk, only bigger idealistically.
Expiration’s greatest attribute is its ability to stay unique without going overboard. It would have been easy to take things too far and make everything eccentric and weird in the name of originality. This would mean that there was little purpose or, if there was, a purpose so out there that very few people outside of the filmmakers and their inner circle might get anything from it. Expiration keeps things fresh while at the same time keeping itself open to its audience.
Shot on more than 70 locations throughout Montreal and the surrounding area, Expiration constantly has something new to show, say and explore. It’s unpredictable, a little out there and entertaining all at the same time. This isn’t the type of movie that you’d likely find coming from any sort of studio. But even on a tight budget, the look of the movie is gorgeous, the acting is at best great and at worst not bad, and the story is always intriguing.
Heffernan was obviously well aware of his limitations before he made the film and doesn’t try to be too ambitious to the point where the production suffers. Expiration is the whole package for anyone looking for something a little different from the ordinary.
Expiration Gallery
