Happy Accidents

A woman with bad luck in love (Marisa Tomei) meets a man (Vincent D’Onofrio) who seems like the answer to her prayers: sensitive, funny, handsome. Unfortunately, he also claims to be a time-traveller from 2470. Writer/director Brad Anderson uses a goofy twist on an old science-fiction plot to frame what is in fact an examination of trust in relationships, the jittery dance of give-and-take as two lovers learn more and more about each other. Whether the man is really from the future is almost irrelevant (and the ending is the only unsatisfactory thing about the slangy, light-fingered script); Anderson is really taking an unconventional look into places where we’ve all been. Tomei and D’Onofrio respond to Anderson’s direction with excellent work, with good support from Holland Taylor as Tomei’s shrink.