Mr. Nobody

MR. NOBODY (2009) - April 2, 2012
A really unique and kind of amazing movie about the many potential variations that the eponymous Mr. Nobody's life can take -- the film shows the impact of many of his choices, then goes back and shows us what would have happened if he had made the other choice.  This results in many different versions of the same man; some quite different from others.  It's all framed by him, well over a hundred years old and near death, in the future (where he's the last living mortal man), looking back on his life.  It sounds like it could be too complex for its own good, or hopelessly pretentious, but Jaco Van Dormael does a pretty amazing job of making all the characters (and their many variations) people who we come to really care about.  The film is also quite stylish and impeccibly directed, cutting seamlessly between the many realities without ever feeling disjointed -- no small feat, considering how much the film jumps back and forth through time and through the many iterations of Mr. Nobody's life.  ***1/2