Possible Worlds (2000)

A man lives in parallel worlds, falling in love with the same woman, while the police hunt down a serial killer who steals brains.

Director:

Robert Lepage

Writers:

John Mighton (play), John Mighton (screenplay)

Stars:

Tilda Swinton, Tom McCamus, Sean McCann

3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tilda Swinton	...	Joyce
Tom McCamus	...	George Barber
Sean McCann	...	Inspector Berkley
Gabriel Gascon	...	Kleber / Doctor
Rick Miller	...	Williams
Griffith Brewer	...	Caretaker
Daniel Brooks	...	Bob
Steve Adams	...	First Interviewer
Russell Yuen	...	Police Officer
Mariah Inger	...	Johnson
Laurent Imbault	...	Darkroom Technician
Lisa Bronwyn Moore	...	Second Interviewer
Eric Hoziel	...	Axxon Security
Simon Lee	...	No-Nose Man
Clément Cormier	...	Housekeeper

Storyline

George and Joyce lead parallel lives in alternate worlds. In each of those lives, George embarks on a relationship with Joyce, sometimes more successfully than others. George also becomes increasingly aware of his alternate lives, not only of Joyce in each of them, but what he carries of himself between each of those lives. In one of those lives, he is the most recent homicide victim in a rash of B&E's. In his case, he is the first victim where nothing of monetary value has been stolen, but only his brain removed from his skull and taken from the crime scene. The lead police investigators, Inspector Berkley and Detective Williams, although sometimes at odds with each other, eventually come to the conclusion that the murder has something to do with brain research, and that George may have been targeted rather than a random victim. In addition to Berkley and Williams' investigation and discovering the identity of the murderer, the alternate question becomes how this situation fits in ...

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Plot Keywords:

multiverse | brain | parallel world | murder | detective | 

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Genres:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 July 2001 (UK)

Also Known As:

Lehetséges világok

Filming Locations:

Magdelen Islands, Québec, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

In Extremis Images, The East Side Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first English-language movie for Quebec director Robert Lepage.

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Goofs

When George and Joyce are talking outside the beach house, the shutters on the windows are closed, but when they jump down on the grass, they are open.

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Quotes

Inspector Berkley: Doctor Kleber says that he was never able to get anything but rudimentary consciousness going.
Inspector Berkley: There is a light that flashes occasionally, but we don't know what it means.
Inspector Berkley: Your husband probably isn't aware of who he is.
Inspector Berkley: Kleber described it as kind of a fluctuating dream state.

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Connections

Featured in Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche (2004)

User Reviews

I enjoyed it

Throughout the film I was reminded of Krysytof Kieslowski's superb films "The Double Life Of Veronique" and "Three Colours Red" and its bugging me why. In parts the music reminded me of the soundtrack to "The Big Blue". I think the trick this film does well is to start the viewer off speculating about maybes, what-ifs and connections. I don't think its a great film but I like to think that if I was Niels Bohr, I'd probably imagine that the film only existed when I collapsed its wave function, if I was Hugh Everett III I'd think it would be a lot better seen in another universe and if I was Albert Einstein I'd reject the whole premise of the film on the grounds that God does not play dice.

As Kieslowski said when asked what "Red" was all about - "Watch it and decide for yourself".