“6:45” — FORGET THE VIEW. GET THE BLEEP OUT OF THERE!

 “6:45” — FORGET THE VIEW. GET THE BLEEP OUT OF THERE!

Forget the seaside view. That’s what Bobby (Michael Reed) and Jules (Augie Duke) should have done but they did not so they had to deal with the ugly truths they hid inside themselves. 

Here’s the story. Bobby and Jules, young and beautiful, are on vacation in the picturesque, small coastal town of Bog Grove. They are taking one last romantic shot at saving his rocky relationship in what is supposed to be just a quick weekend getaway. Their goal is to relax and on their itinerary is nothing but drinking coffee, visiting local shops, and making love. But their plans are disrupted when a mysterious hooded figure murders the two of them at the end of their first day. Yup, it was that kind of vacation. Now, at the start of each day, Bobby wakes up from death but Jules knows nothing. How can Bobby get out of this purgatory? He keeps his eye on the clock on the nightstand, waiting until it hits 6:45, the time of their murder with the same nightmarish chain of events.

Bobby is tormented. He’s trying to figure out a way to stop this hellish nightmare. At 5:39 Bobby’s making passionate love, lost into the moment with Jules. The clock keeps ticking. Over and over, and over, and over he falls into the ecstasy of being locked (physically and spiritually) with his lover. He pretends that everything is fine but he’s dead and so is she, but she’s clueless and then things begin to get even weirder.  

The screenplay, written by Robert Klein and director Craig Singer, I think, imagined a different kind of film. It’s a horror mystery with very little horror. It’s a mystery with a muddled theme. They are dead. Ok. They are experiencing their murder over and over again. And so what? He finally snaps and actually does a bold move in an effort to cheat death. Is he a hero or a monster?

“6:45” is wonderfully shot and edited well and the two leads do have strong chemistry and to prove that point, there are many well-structured sex scenes that provide an erotic center for the film. It’s clear that these two people love one another and have a very strong bond. But an intriguing mystery does not exist. What we get is a young couple trapped in a supernatural time-loop. And as a viewer, the creative team drops us into a type of purgatory, and in the end, it’s narratively disappointing.

It feels like the screenplay is trying much too hard to make a point about the duplicity of all human beings. Or, is it trying to make a point about the horrors of mental illness? Or, is it trying to show us a glimpse of hell right on earth? Or? You get my point. The movie does not have a strong point of view. It’s such a disappointment.