Relax, I’m from the Future reflects the best and worst of humanity in the funniest way possible
By Caleb Jackson
Caleb Jackson stands in front of a Relax, I'm from the Future poster at the Westdale theatre after travelling to Hamilton to a see a movie that was coming to Toronto the next day :,) (Sarah Grishpul/CanCulture)
Luke Higginson, CBC TV editor for Dragon’s Den and a Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) film studies alumni, breaks into the world of directing with a bang in his debut indie feature Relax, I’m from the Future.
Self-described as a “dirtbag time travel comedy,” the film certainly delivers on all aspects of this sentiment. The original idea for the story is derived from Higginson’s short film of the same name, which was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) back in 2013. The homemade, youthful angst of the short film permeates throughout the movie, and it is great.
"I thought it was funny to do a high sci-fi concept with people that were dirtbags that didn't have a strong moral code or a high place in society, and that dichotomy was always interesting and funny to me," said Higginson on how the movie came to be.
In an interview with CanCulture, Higginson said the movie simply couldn’t have been done without his time at TMU. Wango Films, a production company formed by people who also attended TMU around the time Higginson was there, picked up the film due to familiarity with him and his work. He had even edited their first film when they were fresh out of TMU film school.
In the 2023 movie, a time traveller from the future named Casper (Rhys Darby) crash lands in 21st-century Hamilton (of all places) and slowly learns how to live old school with the help of local resident and punk incarnate Holly (Gabrielle Graham). He swears he has come back in time with a plan to save the world. But does he?
No. Not even remotely. All he wants is a chance to meet with one of his favourite comic artists named Percy (Julian Richings) before he commits suicide on a roof. He is a tragic element in the plot and his story parallels Vincent Van Gogh's, as he only achieves fame post-mortem. Casper plans to ask him his most burning questions and then watch him jump. Isn’t that nice?
While comedy is clearly the main sticking point of the narrative, there are a lot of interesting themes of nihilism embedded throughout all of the characters and how the movie handles its sci-fi plot. This is seen most obviously in Percy, a man who works a dead-end job and has his walls plastered with his own political cartoons that depict the same superhero dying in many horrible ways.
When asked about Percy’s characterization, Higginson said a lot of the nihilistic aspects of the plot happened like that because he was going through a major existential crisis while writing the film.
"I was able to sort of channel a lot of my sort of fears and anxieties about the future and about where we were sort of headed as a species and as a society into the script."
Despite these heavy themes, the film never takes itself too seriously. The viewer is constantly torn between being shocked by the terrible things the protagonists do and laughing at the absurdity of it all-- a quality Higginson told us he wanted to make sure was captured when casting these characters.
“The most important thing was that we needed someone who was inherently, extremely likeable - you have to sort of be on [Casper’s] side during a lot of this stuff, you have to still like him while he’s being a doofus,” said Higginson.
It's honestly why the movie works as well as it does. Rhys Darby brings an addictingly charismatic dork energy to Casper that makes his selfish and arguably horrid actions easy to stomach. It’s quite reminiscent of the characters in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia in that way. It’s a total and utter mess, but you just can not look away.
In comparison to Casper, Gabrielle Graham’s Holly has a lot more heart. Initially, she is just in it for the get-rich-quick scheme. But Holly works as a sort of grounding for Casper and his decision-making as her morals and self-confidence grow over time until she becomes the leader of a resistance movement to actually save the future. Able to bounce off of Rhys and steal a couple of scenes herself, Graham brings relatability to her role as the straight man and balances out the wackiness of the rest of the film.
“I was watching David Cronenberg’s Possessor and I saw [Gabrielle Graham] and I was like who is that? And then I was like, ‘Oh, she’s Canadian, she’s playing a character named Holly, this is a fucking sign!’” said Higginson.
The majority of the film is spent with quirky, questionable tomfoolery ensuing between Casper and Holly. They use Casper’s knowledge of the future to make Holly rich while Casper lives in the middle of the Ontario wilderness. He spends his time burying 21st-century items on land owned by a beautiful example of the Canadian hick (Zachary Bennett, the short film's original actor for Casper!)
The final act, however, feels somewhat rushed. The threads throughout the film start converging and wrapping up fairly quickly. Before you know it, the credits are rolling and the film is over.
Despite this, the movie stays consistently enjoyable to watch from start to finish. It utterly traps your attention with witty dialogue and absurd situations that keep you engaged for its entire runtime.
With a soundtrack featuring, and cameo appearance by bitchin’ Canadian punk band PUP, a fun fast paced plot, frenetic editing and charmingly shady characters, the film creates an identity that is incredibly funny and certainly “dirtbag” in all of the best ways possible.
Relax, I’m from the Future will be available for on demand streaming in early November, so be sure to check it out!
8/10, would run as far away as I could if Casper were to ask for help after eating out of a dumpster in front of me.