User Reviews

"Travelooper" is a British live action short film from 2019, so it is five years old now and it runs for pretty much exactly five minutes including credits and you can watch it on Youtube if you like. This is a work written and directed by Jennifer Sheridan who scored her first BAFTA nomination not too long ago in the comedy department and while there is a serious undertone to this film here, I would also categorize it as a comedy. Lead actor Paul G. Raymond you may have seen in Wonka not too long ago where he played a small role and before that, actually before this film here, he also played in an episode of "Black Mirror". He has an Indian background, which his name surely does not give away. Jessie Mei Li's name does give away her background. She is the key romantic interest here and featured in the second half of this really short film. Her biggest film so far was probably "Last Night in Soho". As for the supporting cast, they are also not nobodies. One was on "Ted Lasso", another has worked on pretty big projects already in smaller positions behind the camera.

But yeah, let's look at the outcome here: I really enjoyed the beginning and first half actually. There was a lot to it. Take the start that has a nice little funny twist where you think the protagonist was listening to a tape, but there was actually a personal coach or so on the end of the line as we find out when things do not go according to plan for the main character. What I also thought was interesting there would be the perception of the person he meets there that he apparently was in touch with online before. He reacts totally scared and feels the need to just get away and her perception that moment must have been that he found her really awful I assume. Unless she knew about his fears when it comes to women of course, but I am not sure he would have talked about it with her. I also liked the moment then when he stepped on the whatever you call it. I was as confused as he was when something unusual happened there and was also not sure what was going on. First I thought this might have a negative impact on my viewing experience, but then I liked that I quickly understood and just felt the character' confusion initially. The Matrix reference was also solid. However, I must say I would have preferred if Sheridan and Raymond would have taken another route here story-wise, namely literally elaborated on the "in the loop" aspect and that for him to get out of it, he was required to talk to the woman on the other side and ask her out, for a coffee or whatever.

This is not how it turned out though. Instead, we get a more pompous approach then by the character seeing himself with his future partner on the other side all of a sudden, also with different, more meaningful light effects and he sees not only those two together, but also their/his daughter a little later. Then it is all back to normal and he runs into the woman he just saw with him and there is a little bit of suspense, but not really, as we know it is her under the mask. Maybe, even if what just happened to him, did something with him obviously, it feels slightly unrealistic to think that he so effortlessly talks to her there right away, but you can justify it maybe that because of what he saw, he was sure that she would most likely not reject him. So the more I think about all this with the future vision and the encounter that follows it, the more I like the outcome here, even if maybe I still would prefer the scenario I described earlier. But I cannot say for sure without seeing in put on the screen. In any case, after some initial hesitation, I would say this is not only a solid short film, but a really good one and I recommend watching it. To women and men. But perhaps for men with fear of rejection from females (and of course for lesbians with the same issue), I would call it close to a must-see. Highly recommended. As good as it gets for five minutes and exactly the kind of sci-fi I adore and otherwise I am really not big on the genre! No need for starships. Criminally underseen at 40k right now on Youtube.