Safety Not Guaranteed directed by Colin Trevorrow to a script by Derek Connolly enjoys substance and good performances but suffers from issues of pacing and production finesse. Though playing as an independent film, maintaining its related raw production value, there is an amateurish sense to it which weakens the plot.
Ultimately Safety Not Guaranteed is a film about love and about its characters’ attempts in changing the past in order to affect the present; a noble theme. There are several good elements going for this film including the core idea, the fragility of its main characters (Aubrey Plaza as Darius Britt and Mark Duplass as Kenneth Calloway,) keeping the audience guessing whether the alluded time traveler is for real, and several comic moments. Yet the story lacks bravery in moving the audience into a whole new dimension, and instead settles for stalled plot and banal ending.
Still, this indie shines above the average films playing in the theaters these days that are strong on effects and short on substance.