Limbo Review
What follows is an updated version of an earlier review of Thomas Ikimi's Limbo, with information regarding the new DVD release added.
Shot on an impossibly low budget by a first time writer-director with no film background Thomas Ikimi’s Limbo is a shockingly well put together piece of work. With its high concept, gritty noir feel, and minimalist black and white aesthetic I couldn’t help but be reminded of another low budget, black and white labor of love, that being Christopher Nolan’s Following. Whether Ikimi will meet with the same kind of lasting success that Nolan has is yet to be seen but he certainly has a willingness to address big issues, a compelling grasp of genre and an excellent, natural eye for composition.
Limbo tells the story of Adam Moses, a New York City attorney on the verge of bringing down a major gangster thanks to information from an anonymous source. Things go horribly wrong for Moses when he is summoned to a rooftop meeting with his source. The meeting, of course, is a set up. An attempt is made on his life and though he awakes seemingly unharmed it quickly becomes apparent that something has gone horribly wrong. Moses is stuck in time, reliving the same hour over and over again with no end in site. He becomes convinced that his would-be assassin holds the key to his strange state and sets off to track down the hired gun hoping to be freed from this Limbo.
The repeated time device makes comparisons to Groundhog’s Day inevitable but Limbo is a serious minded piece of work penned by Ikimi when he was studying philosophy and is equal parts noir detective thriller, Dante, Kafka and good old Catholic guilt. Ikimi builds his film around a very fundamental part of life: if we live ‘moral’ lives largely because we are afraid of the consequences of ‘immorality’ – as most seem to do – then what happens when consequences are stripped from the equation? Is morality a valid term? Is there any such thing as good and evil? How can we judge our true natures?
A first time film shot in two weeks on a budget under ten grand is not generally a recipe for quality but Ikimi was both smart and fortunate enough to surround himself with experienced partners. His cast is made up largely of professional character actors and both his editor and sound designer have had long, successful careers in Hollywood. As a result the technical end of the film is superb, filled with beautiful shots and very well constructed. Ikimi’s script, though a little bit clumsy in places, is tight and balances the exposition very well with the tension of Adam’s frantic search. Rather than aiming for naturalism from his characters – something they likely wouldn’t have been able to achieve with such limited rehearsal and shooting time – Ikimi instead has his actors aim for a stylized, emotionally clipped delivery that may have little bearing on real life but fits very nicely with the noir aspect of the film. While not a perfect film Limbo is certainly an intriguing one, one that marks Ikimi as a talent that needs watching.
Every bit as impressive as the fact that Ikimi and company managed to make a film for a measly nine grand – never mind that they actually made a good one – is that their little film has proven to have legs, legs that have led it to a DVD release. Not surprising at all, however, is that they’ve done an excellent job with the DVD. The transfer is anamorphic and very clean and the disc includes a healthy assortment of bonus features: three deleted scenes, a thirteen minute behind the scenes reel, an eight minute interview with the producer and others titled Making a Movie For Nine Grand (I’ll let you figure out what it covers for yourself), and a further fifteen minute segment titled Creating Limbo featuring interviews with writer/director Ikimi plus the editor and cinematographer. The DVD release has very limited distribution but the DVD is available at Amazon and I’m told it should be at Netflix soon as well.
