Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Topher Grace, Kylie Bunbury, Jordan Peele, Logan McInnes, Bruno Rudolf, Kelly Ann Woods, Kam Kozak, Jina Anika, Mark Chavez, Marc Williams, Britney Mocca, Leo Chiang.
There is surely no denying that Groundhog Day is one of the classic American comedies of the last 40 years, not only does it see Bill Murray at his best, a tall feat when you consider just how influential he has been throughout his entire career, but the premise of the film is charming, beguiling and one that captures the idea of persistence and change right down to its very core.
The trouble is that however good, however funny, Groundhog Day is, its insightfulness into manipulation is often overlooked, for the sake of a good laugh at the expense of repetition and the fear of change, there is a deep darkness that shows the exploitation of time to your own advantage and the falseness that comes with knowing what is going to come next when others around you are oblivious to your influence on their lives.
Of course cinema does not want you to look to deeply at that, it is implied, overtly but dressed up in good humour at the expense of Bill Murray’s character, but it is there, staring at you, imploring you to realise that we can attempt with all our might to affect change, but if we use others, just one person to create an image of perfection which is blatant and insincere, then we are capitalising on the forged and constructed at will.
It is in this that The Twilight Zone‘s Try, Try explores freely the effect of such meddling with time for the sole purpose of manipulation of another’s affections, and where Groundhog Day couldn’t go, The Twilight Zone most certainly could, and with an impressive performance by Topher Grace as Marc Wheeler and Kylie Bunbury as his 1000 day muse, the production and creative team behind this particular episode score heavily on the creepiness vibe, building it slowly, before allowing it boil over with the sheer will of establishing a terror thankfully will never experience.
Directed by Jen McGowan and written by Alex Rubens, Try, Try will surely go down as a classic of the 21st Century version of the long running science fiction staple, it follows convention but also is fashioned to disturb in a way that induces questions of those we meet by chance and their motives when they seem to be a perfect match for us.
Inventive, consummate, and deliberate, superbly written and a reminder of just how an intelligent an actor Topher Grace is. Try, Try is a memorable tale delivered from the absolute best.
 Ian D. Hall